There just aren’t enough.
Every time I browse through my own personal image files on my computer I end up disappointed that there aren’t enough.
I should have pulled out the camera more.
I should have video taped him playing with my children so I could hear his voice over and over again.
I should have actually gotten in more of the photos that I do have of him.
There just aren’t enough and I can’t go back and change that now.
When my father passed away a little over two years ago from kidney cancer everything about my life changed. But a change that I didn’t expect to happen took place. A passion grew within me–a passion to photograph. The most precious things that I had left of my dad were our photographs and the memories we made as we took them. So I developed a passion to start doing what I always loved to do professionally. To provide others with beautiful images of their loved ones so that one day, they might look back at them and be so grateful that they took the time to schedule that session or to photograph that smile. That they would forever remember that moment in time because they have it in the form of a picture.
My Dad was always interested in photography and tried to show me the ins and outs of it many times. But I was a busy teenager and words like “aperture” and “exposure” went in one ear and out the other. I did always love looking at his camera and his lenses and seeing the beautiful images that he took, but I didn’t have the patience or the desire to learn from him at the time. Now more than ever I wish I could sit down with him and “talk photography”. I wish I could ask him questions and take everything in as he explained things to me. I wish he could see my work. I wish I could hear him say how proud he was of me.
Not a day goes by that I don’t think of him. There isn’t a day that I don’t look at the large canvas hanging in our stairway and see his dimpled smile and think about the man and father that he was. But I’m grateful. I’m grateful that I had him in my life for 26 years and that both of my kids had the chance to meet him. And I’m grateful for the pictures that I do have of him. That my children have a face to put to the many stories I share with them of their Papa.
So this Father’s Day I’ve decided that I want to give back. That I want to provide a family with the gift of photography so that they, too, will one day look back at their images and feel so grateful that they took the time to take them. But I need your help. I will be giving away one complimentary Family Session and the “Top 5″ digital image package to a deserving Dad and his family.
I know that you know him. Maybe he’s a Dad who goes above and beyond to be a great role model for his kids. Or a Dad who serves our country to protect our freedom. Or a Dad who goes the extra mile to provide for his family. Whoever he may be, he deserves recognition for all that he does.
To nominate your Deserving Dad, click on the image below and submit the form by Wednesday, June 30th, 2010. The winner will be announced on Saturday, July 3rd, so spread the word!
And Happy Father’s Day to all the deserving Dad’s out there!
by Megan Squires
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