Garvin Family

"The child is the beauty of God present in the world, that greatest gift to the family."

St. Teresa of Calcutta

There are some families that will always have a very special place in my heart. This family is one of them. I have been taking their family photos every fall since the oldest (now in first grade) was a one-year-old. I have had the honor of watching this family grow and stretch and become the beautiful example of faith.

We met in Cuyahoga Valley National Park and found ourselves in an adventure. All of the sudden, there were pine cones, rocks, pond frogs and fish... many things to entice and stir the imagination of a child! Despite meeting when the sun was high in the sky, I used the trees as a natural filter for the light. Hopefully, you can see how well that technique worked...

The added complication of one of the boys having fractured his elbow and we had to be careful about how we posed him. He was a trooper though and was so easily open to instruction that there were a few times I had to deliberately remind myself that we needed to be careful of that arm. But, like I said, he was a trooper and took amazing photos.

No matter what session, there is always difficulties. But that is what makes each of them an adventure. Getting to know this family and share such an amazing legacy of documenting their growth as well as my own as a photographer has been an exciting and grand adventure. One that I hope I will be able to continue until the children are teenagers... maybe even beyond.