A Kayak, dogs and incredible high school senior– you won’t want to miss Sam…

When I initially met with Sam, he shared, “You’ve photographed a lot of my friends and they all look great.  I appreciate how your photos are unique and creative, personalized to fit each person.”
His mom, Kara, shared, “The whole experience of working with you was fantastic!  It was very natural and you were able to capture him just being him.  Your shots are gorgeous!”
While I love to capture action and movement like the opening image, I also enjoy capturing more traditional portraits as well.

Sam shared, “Nature is huge for me.  I love to be outdoors!  I’ll camp out with friends, hike, take the dogs…  I spent a whole week outside, sleeping in a hammock once, it was just fun.”

Kara shared about this wall all the way in.  It was the same color as the woods and ground and I hadn’t even noticed it.  Sam and I hiked down to it and wow– it was perfect!  Such a cool shot of you, Sam!

Sam shared, “I can be more of an introvert but I know who I am and what I want.  I just try to be the best me that I can be.”

Sam explained, “I’m a swimmer and spend a lot of time in the water.  I wanted a more subtle water reference.  I love Kayaking and started going out on one when I was too young to paddle.  I’d just sit on the back, I don’t know, I was probably four or so.”

Picking on his guitar, Sam said, “I’m interested in learning new things, it’s just fun.   I’ve been playing the guitar for a couple years now,  I’m self-taught, so yeah I just picked it up over Youtube pretty much.”

Kara shared, “Sam has always been a very humble person, always been sensitive to other people’s needs.”

She smiled, “I remember when he was a toddler, he’d toddle over to the other little ones and give them a hug them if they were crying.  You can see it now, too– how he is with the dogs, or little kids on the swim team, even his younger sister.”

Sam is such an interesting young man– one with a lot of balance in his life– sports, grades, hobbies, friends… I thought this was fitting…

This image seemed to really fit on some level, I think it’s the combination of nature, tranquility and complexity!

The moon rise 🙂  I included this just because it was beautiful.

Sam thanks so much for entrusting me with capturing this important part of your life!
It was a pleasure getting to know you and I’m so excited to share Part 2– *the pool*.