The tall one hates to have his picture taken. It’s in the Osterman family lore, right next to the story about how they aren’t actually Ostermans in the first place. Which is a whole other story. There are piles of photos of the tall one giving the finger to the camera as young teen and even more as an adult. Why he decided to marry a photographer I’ll never know, but lucky for me he’s awesome and after a year of gently pushing him in front of the camera, the time has come for my studio class.

This was a very technical exercise so I didn’t have much leeway creatively, but I made sure to take some extra exposures to really take advantage of the tall one’s willingness to be put in full face makeup and get in front of a camera. I even brought my Holga along, but I have yet to develop the photos. These photos are the outtakes from my assignment, and I think they turned out a lot more fun that the assignment it’s self.

While driving to this shoot I had the idea of a “warrior’ series. Shots of people with faces done up in warrior paint but dressed and placed in a location that makes that person feel like a warrior. I think I’m going to work on it a bit, but in the meantime since the tall one didn’t get to have that opportunity, being the first one, I figured I’d write one reason why I think he’s a strong person.

This weekend you told me that you didn’t think that you could incorporate a new routine to your morning. I smiled and nodded, played along, but neglected to mention how you have completely transformed your mornings all on your own. Making an actual breakfast, drinking chai tea, having time to sit with baby kitty and pet him for so long that you fall back asleep. The man I met used to blindly find his way to the toothbrush every morning, put toothpaste on it and then stared at a computer for 15 minutes with a toothbrush sticking out of his mouth. You’re so strong and amazing and you don’t even know it…and I can’t wait until you do.