Garrett

Garrett is a class of 2021 senior at McMinnville High School.  He wanted senior photos that had an urban feel and we found all sorts of awesome backdrops right in his home town.  We shot his session on Labor Day, a day that ended up becoming a historic weather day for Oregon.  It started as a hot, sunny day with clear blue skies.  Late afternoon/early evening, the sun started fading and the wind picked up. In the thirty minute drive to McMinnville, the weather changed significantly.  The wind went from mild to vicious gusts and the sun all but vanished, in spite of no huge clouds or fog obscuring it.  It was like someone put an Instagram filter over the world.  It was eerie.

On location, we talked about rescheduling his session, but since Garrett doesn’t have super long hair we figured we could still work in a windstorm. His senior session was a series of getting in position, waiting for the wind to stop momentarily, and then taking bursts of photos.  We joked about how he would tell the story of getting his photos taken in a windstorm for the rest of his life.  Little did we know that the windstorm was whipping baby wildfires into historic destruction.  A week later, huge portions of our beloved state are on fire.  Thousands of people have lost their homes.  Some people have died.  It’s devastating.  We are grieving and praying for rain.

Editing Garrett’s senior portraits has been therapeutic.  His photos serve as a time stamp of a historic day: joy in uncertainty. Life’s milestones celebrated, even in grief.  Garrett, I pray your senior year ends up being filled with more joy than it’s starting with.  That even in grief and uncertainty, you will feel celebrated and loved through these big milestones.

#jodistilpphotography #prayforrain #seniorportraits #classof2021 #mcminnvillehighschool #windstorm #oregonwildfires