Meet Matthew

Matthew and his family followed my directions to a "T"....when I said scout out some creative and unique spots to shoot the session, WOW!  They delivered.

Now may be a good time to add - this family is related to my last senior on my blog so it shouldn't have surprised me that they would pull through and find some awesome locations!  It's in their blood!  Or could it be they are all firemen? hmmmm....I may have to blog about that sometime!

OK, so I follow dad, Crystal, and Matthew to Distant, PA.  You may not find it on the map.  And I don't know if I would remember how we got there.  But after a few turns on some dirt roads, we stopped at one of the most unique stone bridges I have ever seen.  We hit a slight snag though.  We weren't the only ones who thought it would be a great spot for photos.  Another photographer arrived with her clients, but we all managed to work through it and  everyone was happy.

Except for being bitten alive by gnats and mosquitos down by the water's edge.  Yuk!  After just a few quick shots down there, we decided to move on to another location.

But....now this is where it gets a bit hokey!   A young lad who was there with the other photographer (he was driving the quad) asked if we wanted to see another bridge just up the road before we left.  Who could resist that invitation?  He explained it was a railroad bridge spanning the creek.  So, there we went driving up a dirt road, turning in to a cornfield pathway, and winding our way over to a clearing.  All I could hear in my head was dueling banjos playing that tune - you know the one from THAT movie! :)

After a hike (I thought it was a very long hike), we came to a wide grassy clearing that gave a clear view of the old railroad bridge.  It was very cool.  But maybe not worth the drive through a cornfield and my tinge of nerves and apprehension. But, I must say we had fun.  And the young boy who escorted us was very helpful, considerate, and nice.  Thank goodness for AWD (all wheel drive)!!!

And off we went...

2nd location....Matthew's boss' house

And all I can say is PERFECTION.  This home could have been on the front cover of L.L. Bean or Cabelas' magazine.  The owner was gracious enough to allow us to shoot there even though he wasn't going to be home.  Matthew felt so comfortable there and it really showed in the images.  He was able to relax and pose here and there around the property.  

'Mr. September', as Matthew is now known, is a fireman.  So we had to be sure to capture his "fireman" look!  And it was just about sunset.  Oh, a photographer's dream time! 

I have to say that usually young men are not that in to having their senior pictures taken.  I have literally seen guys just pout up a storm.  But, somehow, through the use of charm, jokes, and trust, I found a way to capture the real Matthew.  And dad and Crystal enjoyed every minute of watching Matthew smile, let loose, and enjoy this special time in his life!  I so appreciate Scott trusting me with his son's senior portraits.  I hope they can look back on this day and recall all the laughter and fun moments they shared together.