I traveled to Norman for Rachel and Ray’s wedding and had a blast working with them.  The ceremony was held late afternoon at Trinity Baptist followed by the reception at the new Embassy Suites.  Rachel chose a black and white theme with red accents, and had mini wedding cakes at each table!  Rachel’s dress was by Maggie Sottero, the cake by Cindy Bird, and the flowers were by Judy Hanson.  The slide show of their wedding day is here:  Rachel + Ray

My dad passed away 12 years ago in April and my mom stayed on in the house we grew up in.  Over time it became increasingly difficult for her to keep up with a house that size and when she finally made the decision to downsize into a limited access condo community, and as the moving day approached, I stopped over to help her go through some stuff.  Stuff, the stuff that accumulates over the years, personal stuff, stuff bought on trips as souvenirs, stuff worn on special occasions, stuff proudly brought home from elementary school and briefly displayed on the refrigerator, stuff once used daily then stashed away in a closet because it might be used again some day, stuff that hung on the walls, stuff from hobbies past and present, stuff that defines us, tells who we once were, who we are, and who we might become, while trying to decide what stuff to keep, what stuff to give away, and what stuff to throw away.

Then we came to the shelf in the living room which held the photo albums.  We sat together and looked through every one, laughing and crying together as we turned the pages that chronicled our family life.  And In the cabinet below the photo album shelf I found sleeve after sleeve of Kodachrome and Ektachrome slides.  Back in the day, my dad used slide film for all the family pictures.  We had an annual tradition around Thanksgiving time to pull out the slide projector, pop some popcorn, darken the living room lights, and watch slides of my parents as newlyweds, and watch as our family grew from zero to four children and moved around the country.  Everyone had their favorites, and howls of laughter would erupt at the same slides each year.

When my mom and I finished looking through all the photographs, it was apparent that there was someone missing from virtually every photo.  My dad.  He was always the one behind the camera.  I took the slides with me that day and had them scanned and converted to digital images.  All in all, there were only two pictures that I could find with my dad and all his children.  This is the first one from 1966 or 1967 when we lived in Brewster, NY and taken by my mom.

On my dad’s back are my sisters, my brother is sticking his tongue out and I am covering his eyes.  Notice the rad electric race car set on the floor in the background and the state of the art Philco B&W television set.  The only other photo of my dad with all his kids hangs in my mom’s condo.  It’s a 16×20 framed print of the family taken in 1973 and the only family picture ever taken by a professional photographer.

I am saddened that I have so few pictures of my dad at all, and only one of him with me and my siblings.  Which is why I am doing the Father’s Day Portrait Project.  I will be at All Souls Unitarian Church on Sunday June 14th and Sunday June 21st creating portraits of fathers with their kids, fathers with their fathers, and hopefully we can have some 3 generation groups make it in as well.  For a $15 or more like kind donation I will make a portrait of any father, with or without his children.  All proceeds from this project will go directly to the All Souls Partner Church Program to help its efforts in Uganda and Transylvania, and with a $15 or more donation you will receive a complimentary 5×7 print.

Feel free to drop by on either Sunday to have your portrait made, you don’t have to be a member of the church to take advantage of this offer.