Anyone who knows me would probably think that I would figure out some way to photoshop Ayn Rand's face onto Bruce Campbell's body. But if it's one thing I've learned while living this life on Earth is that your heroes never quite live up to your expectations. I'm pretty sure if I ever hung out with Ayn Rand she'd really dislike me.
In the hero department, I've always had a large stable of people to look up to. In music there's been Yanni, Dave Mustaine, Joe Satriani. In writing there's been Clive Barker and David Foster Wallace. And in photography, well, it's still pretty new to me so I haven't really found that one photographer that has shaped my style. After all, I got into photography having only the desire to shoot the stars and cosmos for work.
So, when I thought about this challenge I thought about the people that helped shape who I am today as well as those that never let me down.
Of course, that comes down to my parents.
When I was a kid, I remember when my dad came home from work he always gave my mom a hug. He always bought her flowers on her birthday and anniversary...and sometimes he bought her flowers "just because." My dad taught me to not start eating dinner until mom joined us at the table. He taught me how to tie a tie, work on a car, and how to throw a punch if that school bully got too uppity. Basically, my dad taught me--by good example--on how to treat women, take care of my responsibilities, and to stand up for myself.
In adolescence, I remember telling my mom that I wanted to date someone who was very similar to myself (same taste in music, movies, books, etc). She told me what a stupid idea this was. "Why would you want to date someone with the exact same interests? How boring would that be?" Whenever I was sick, she took care of me. Whenever I was outside playing, she'd have lunch made for me. There was also a time I begrudgingly agreed to participate in a March of Dimes volunteer program. When I tried to back out, she told me I made a promise and should always finish what I start. Follow through with my promises, she said.
Both my parents taught me how to try and stand out: when running for class office make your sign a different and bold color; when speaking in public make sure to throw in a joke. They taught me to work hard first and play later.
I could go on and on talking about the positive influence my parents had on my life. But, in short, I'll just add that I wouldn't be half the man I am today if not for my parents. So, for this challenge, I visited my mother and father at their house (my mom had just come out of the hospital from surgery) to take their picture. I had this very specific image in my mind that would involve a headshot from both to the upper left and right of a square frame and then an image of their hands and wedding bands together at the bottom. I wanted it to be fairly contrasty with heavy use of shadows to give it a timeless feeling.
It came out pretty much exactly the way I had in mind.
If there's an important person in your life, take a photo of them.

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