This past weekend, my family made one of our infrequent trips down to the Rio Grande Valley. Dedra and I grew up there and our parents still reside there. It had been about four years since we last visited, so we were long overdue.
We had several items on our agenda, including visiting my mother’s grave, going to South Padre Island to get some time in at the beach, and to take a boat ride with Dedra’s dad. There were many poignant moments, but sometimes you don’t fully recognize those until you look back on them.
I was reminded today, of one of the reasons why my personal photography is so important to me. It literally helps me “see” how I experience my life and my family. As I go through my images, I’m struck by the record of unconscious decisions about when I click the shutter on what I see.
I noticed that two of my favorite photographs were at the same time vastly different, and strikingly similar. One is of my father at my mother’s grave. The other is of my daughter drawing in the sand on SPI with my wife in the background. Both near the ground. Each expressing a similar sentiment in their own way. Love is a powerful thing.
