I was given a photographic assignment: Take casual, unstaged portraits of people at church for a video to be created at a later date.

I took dozens of photos. Many of them were during the morning worship service. The service had a summer camp theme and most of the children were sitting on blankets up front, like they would at a campfire. After the service this young lady in red was sitting on a chair by an outdoor window. She was playing with a carnation. I focused my attention on her. The light outside the window was changing and she was very active. Some of the photos were ok, some very nice, some not so good. I just kept watching her and the light and changing camera settings as the light changed.

The light changed yet again. She put down the carnation and looked out the window. CLICK. It was my 35th photo of her. It was a magic moment with classic “Rembrandt Lighting”. I took 5 more photos of her, 41 in all, but frame 35 was the best. It is my favorite photo for May 12, and one of my all time favorite portraits.

Just a few minutes before photographing the girl in red, I was photographing this girl playing on a blanket. I got down on the ground to be at eye level with her. I took several photo of her, and then she looked up and to her right. Someone looking at this portrait said “She looks like a dancer.” She does. We have a professional ballerina in the family and I have seen her pose very much like this. This is my second favorite photo for this date.

Earlier in the service some of the children got up to sing a song. Our grandson Finn was distracted by the candle on the worship center, quit singing, and tried to blow out the candle.

That afternoon our grandson’s came over for Mother’s Day. When it was time for Finn’s nap, Terran read to him to help put him to sleep.

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Series: Favorite Photos by Date – all about this series