in lieu of a card this year, you get a blog post

my mother is a patient lady. she has waited 279 days for a picture from me. a picture she has never seen, but that i had kept telling her she wasn’t going to like because she wasn’t going to ‘get it’. i thought for mother’s day i would publicly reveal the picture to her.
i know what my mom is thinking right now…. ‘why would she tell everyone that it is a picture i wouldn’t like? i like all of her pictures. she is so talented’ (i can hear you now, mom, and i know you are smiling because i’m right). but let me explain myself… i know that my mom’s vision of the picture i took that day is not what i am presenting to her today. but i also know that once she has a chance to understand my vision and why i chose to photograph her and her friends in this manner…i know that she will love it. (that’s mom in the middle )

279 days ago i was woken up at the wee hours of the morning by my mother and two of her good friends. they were on their way to cape may for a fun weekend together. i stumbled out of bed as my mother insisted that i get my camera out.

ugh, really?

taking a picture for me is not as easy as pulling out my point and shoot (that might also be because i do not even own one). i have to get my giant camera bag, find a card to shoot with, look for a charged battery, pick a lens… knowing full well that later i will have to disassemble my camera and lens, download the card and edit the image. but it is my mother… and i love her… and once i was able to get the sleep out of my eyes, i saw why she was insisting…

matching yellow shirts and aunt nancy’s surprise… giant sun hats for everyone! they were cracking up at themselves. they reminded me of a greeting card. i know the picture they had in their minds, but it wasn’t what i was seeing… and when your daughter is a photographer, she will take the picture how she wants to because she said so.

what i saw was three women who have an awesome love and understanding for one another. three women who take charge. three women who would do anything for me. three women who know how to have a good time. three women that can laugh at themselves. three women who have taught me about friendship. three women that won’t let anything stop them. three women in matching bright yellow shirts and giant sun hats enjoying every minute of their adventure.

the image that came to mind was a bright one. as i took a step outside, i was literally blinded by how bright it was (i had been sleeping afterall). then i saw the shirts and i was further blinded. but besides the literal brightness….it was their smiles and joy that were really blinding me. i had no choice but to make the image bright. mom, this is what you call ‘sun flare’… i did it intentionally. i waited for this moment because i knew it would come. i knew that in enough time, you would crack yourselves up in just the right composition for me….see, i have patience too.

i know the reason i waited so long to show her this image. it meant something to me and i didn’t want to just slap a print on her table and say ‘here you go.’ i wanted her to know what it meant to me and sometimes it takes me time to figure out how i want to say it.

mom, i’m proud of you for having such a good time. i’m proud of you for being filled with laughter and joy and being surrounded by great friends. i’m proud of you for doing your own thing. i’m proud of you for how you have decided to live your life. you are amazing and i am so lucky that you are mine. you know me so well and i know now you will realize the reason for my delay was not laziness and the fact that you are not a paying customer, hah.

you taught me to create and stick with my own vision despite how hard it can be. you taught me to do my own thing and have fun in life. and you have always supported my every endeavor. i know that you will love this image because it is my vision… and that makes me one lucky daughter…

i love you…. happy mother’s day…

(yes, i ordered the prints…)


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