Photographing those I love is a beautiful thing.  These images are of my brother Kendall and his sweet wife, Terri, taken while we were all on vacation in Cabo, Mexico.

My family has been spread throughout the country for over 30 years so we rarely get to spend quality time together.  My parents divorced when I was 7; my dad moved to Arizona and my mom to Iowa.  My 4 older brothers and I never lived all together after that.

Kendall is the middle child and is 12 years older than me.  He was always so sweet with me, playing barbies with me, fixing my hair for school in the morning, taking me for rides in the evening on his motorbike, and much more.  Everyone in our family agrees that Kendall is the most gentle and cherished of us all.  He has such a loving spirit and anyone who meets him just falls in love with him.

His actions toward others has always been amazing to us.  When he was very small, one of our cousins was in a horrible car accident that left her paralized.  The family and town rallied to help raise money for hospital bills.  At one particular event, Kendall sold tickets for kids to ride his beloved pony and then after the event, he sold his pony to donate the money.  What kid does something like that???

Growing up in Iowa, kids do a lot of sledding in the winter.  Find the biggest hill and hold on for dear life.  All the kids went up and down those hills.  Kendall loved sledding but he always stopped at the bottom of the hill to see if any of the smaller kids or special needs kids needed help carrying their sleds back up.  Kendall was a friend to everyone and made everyone feel special.

Kendall has also had a special relationship with animals of all kinds since he was very small.  He has had all kinds of pets; animals just seemed drawn to him and never afraid.  I believe that animals can sence a person's true nature and spirit.  I believe they have sight into our souls... Kendall's is pure and light, full of love and gentlenes.

When I was little, I wanted to be with Kendall all the time.  I learned how to write his name before I learned how to write my own.  The house we had when I was 5 was built with cedar shakes on a few of the walls... of course I would get splinters quite often.  When that happened, I would sit on the couch for hours until Kendall got home, he was the only one that I would let touch it.  He was so gentle and it never hurt when he removed the splinter.  He was my hero... and still is.

He has always been pretty small in comparison to others his age... but his heart is as big as a mountain.  There honestly isn't enough time or space to document all the loving, special moments and stories Kendall has created for animals and people.  The best part is that he doesn't even know how special he is... I've always beleived that his spirit was somehow uniquly touched by God for a greater purpose than most.  He is such a gift to our family and to anyone who gets the opportunity to meet him.

One of my favorite things about him is the way he loves his wife, Terri.  Kendall doesn't hold back at all, he loves her with every fiber of his being.  She is his top priority in life, his hopes and dreams are all wrapped up in her.  They've been married for over 20 years, yet he still watches her from across the room as if he's only just layed eyes on her.  It's a beautiful site to see.

In 2001, I gave birth to my first child, Jillian Kyndall Higdon.  I had dreamed of having a baby girl my whole life and she exceeded every expectation I had.  When choosing her middle name, I knew exactly what it should be.  Naming her after her Uncle Kendall made me feel comforted as if somehow part of his precious spirit would be passed to her.  I prayed that she would inherit his kindness, open and loving nature.  That was and is my biggest hope for her.

So, as you can tell, being able to photograph my brother and his wife on this gorgeous day in Cabo was such a blessing for me.  I pray that God grants us many more moments like this.

I get asked "What is your favorite image you have ever taken" quite a bit.  So today's Blog entry is dedicated to my ALL TIME fave!  It's called "She Loved Her Roses, He Loved Her."

The story of this image was born at a photography convention in Indiana where I was judging and teaching.  During the lighting course I was teaching, there was an older man, very tall and still handsome, that was picking at me just a bit.  Not really giving me a hard time, but making me earn my keep for sure.  Sooooo.... of course I made him stand up and be the model for one of my lighting demos to give it back to him.  He was a great sport and we had several laughs as did the rest of the class, however his laughs seemed to require more effort than I would expect.  Afterwards, I went on and completed the class, had dinner that night and was very excited to sit in on a very talented JuliAnne Jonker's course the next morning.  

I found my seat in the front row and then noticed the same tall, elderly gentleman heading my direction.  I invited him to sit next to me and we started into traditional small talk.  However, very quickly his head lowered and his face suddenly looked very weathered and worn.  He began to tell me that his beautiful wife of many, many years had recently passed away the previous month.  He explained that she was his everything... his life.  He told me how one day she was there and fine, then the next day just gone, passing of a heart attack with no warning.  He said they shared a very large, old home and now he just wanders through the rooms feeling so alone and lost.  I imagined him there... so tall and strong, but seeming so small and frail with the tall ceilings, large furniture and soft grainy light coming through the window sheers.  I didn't picture him sitting in his overstuffed chair, I didn't picture him sitting at the kitchen table or lying in their bed.  I imagined him just standing in a large open hallway, the only light is the sunlight that is filtered by the curtains hung on tall, stain-glass windows.  He's dressed in nice, gray pants, black dress shoes, and a button-up shirt with only the top button open.  He's lost...

All I could do was reach over and hold his hand and thank him for sharing something so personal and special with me.  It startled him just a bit, as if someone hadn't gently touched him in a very long time and then he just exhaled.  Then I said, "She must have been a very wonderful woman to have a man love and miss her so much."  He nodded slowly as we looked up noticing the class was about to start. 

I had to leave class early to head home before the weather and was never able to speak to the man again, but the love he had for his wife and the loss that was so evident on his face left a permanent mark on my heart.

The next couple of months flew by as Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas came and went.   It was January and we were in the middle of Print Competition craziness.  I was at a complete loss of what to photograph.  Jason knew exactly what he wanted to shoot... flowers.  I was NOT excited.  For me, if my subject doesn't have eyeballs, I'm just not interested.  But I decided to go with him to find his flowers.  A friend of mine, owns a flower shop and she gave us free reign to search the store.  Jason was busy finding the perfect lily, rose, daisy, etc.  I was bored...  Looking around, I noticed several pink roses; hanging and wilted but still in water buckets in a back corner.  They were so beautiful, but so sad at the same time.  I couldn't help but think of the old man I had met in Indiana.  I asked about them and my friend said they were from a wedding the weekend before and I could just HAVE them.  I loved them even more at that point... FREE! 

Immediately, the image started to form in my mind.  How could I translate the impact the old man had on me through these flowers?  They were so similar, there had to be away. 

I called my father-in-law, who has been struggling with a chronic illness for quite sometime.  He was tired but, as always up for anything I wanted to do.  I needed him to look small and frail so I put him in my husband's, who's almost 100 lbs more than his dad, dress coat.  I chose a lighting pattern that emphasized the wrinkles and character in his face and hands.  In the end, not only did the vision come together, but I also got to use one of the most amazing men I've ever known as my model.  Such an honor in so many ways... So blessed...

Inspiration is Priceless... Art is Forever.