When Rhonda asked me to shoot Dan’s change of command ceremony she mentioned that they had not had family photos done in quite some time and was thinking about having it done. She also knew that it would be tricky planning it all since she had already moved to the DC area and would only be here for a couple of days.
She got in touch with me once the change of command date was finalized and we set the family session for the same day as the ceremony (you can see the ceremony here) but later in the day. I knew they had plans that evening so we were in a time crunch. They were patient and didn’t seem rushed at all which made the session that much smoother.
They wanted to have memories of their time at Fort Bliss so we shot at the Old Fort Bliss Replica (recreated to look like it did in 1857) and on LT. Noel Field with the Franklin Mountains in the background. Dan’s father was in town for the ceremony and we were able to get him in some of the photos.
We were photobombed by the birds.
“Every girl has that one guy, she has a crush on forever.”
“Dads are most ordinary men turned by love into heroes, adventurers, story-tellers, and singers of song.”
~Pam Brown~
Just having some fun.
“You are what happened when we wished upon a star.”
It was time to head over to the Replica for some more individual and group shots. I am always amazed at just how many different photo ops there are at that one location.
“A grandfather is someone with silver in his hair and gold in his heart.”
3 handsome generations
As we were walking around one of the guys mentioned the sunflowers that were still alive and how it was mostly green. Well, that gave me an idea and once I get something stuck in my head… I took Dan and Rhonda over to them and then moved them a bit so that Rhonda could get in the middle of it all. She looked at me like I was crazy and I moved them a bit more thinking that maybe that was the problem. Nope, she looked at Dan and said, “She doesn’t know me does she?!” The good thing is that she trusted me and they both went climbed into the box and the results were some of my favorites.
I’m sure that Rhonda was more than ready to get out of the flowers and move on to something else. I figured it was time for some mother and son time.
“I remember the first day I ever looked into your eyes and felt my entire world flip.”
Love just radiated off of these two the entire time and I took full advantage of the fact that they had been apart for a few months to get one more shot.
Stunning.
I mentioned we were done and I received the typical reaction…
Photographing the ceremony in the morning and then following it with your family in the afternoon was amazing. Thank you for trusting me with your memories. I hope that you enjoy your new adventure and continue to make many more.
