To call myself a documentary style photographer. I had to do what any Documentarian would do. I had to learn and observe my subjects, my couple. I wanted and needed to know everything about the anatomy of their relationship. From how they met to the first date to what were their first initial thoughts about each other.
Mandie and Hunter described their favorite place to be. A family owned property in the middle of nowhere Texas with only grazing cattle, a broken down windmill, the criss-crossing of highline poles, and a slowly evaporating playa lake to obscure views of the vast plains. With smiling eyes, Mandie continues to tell me how she and Hunter come here to talk about their daily lives, what the future holds, and laugh at all the ridiculous things. This place, to Mandie and Hunter, is an escape from the restless world beyond.
As they shared these sweet moments with me. I couldn’t help but picture each conversation and laugh and revelation by a campfire. A phenomenon that has comforted and provided warmth and light for so many humans before these two. A natural representation of how precious and tender you must be to keep a flame from going out. Something I think Mandie and Hunter know a little about.
I hope as you observe this gallery that you ask yourself:
What keeps me kindled?
What feeds my soul?
Who feeds my soul?
It is quite an intimate act to allow someone to take your photos. But there’s an added pressure when this said person requests to know you deeper than what the eye can see. And I am learning, the more I delve into documentary style photography, there’s a level of responsibility that is pertinent to the success of these photographs. I must take care of these deeper answers and feelings. I must nurture them as I nurture my own. And through my lens, I crave most to show you what you already know about your relationship and yourself.
Mandie and Hunter,
Thank you so much for allowing me to photograph an evening in your life. I hope more than anything that it foreshadows the simple evenings to come. It is projects like these that make me fall in love with photography again, again, and again.
