"Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth." -Mary Schmich

OK, so here's the thing about this image: my daughter and some of her friends asked me to take a few pictures before their prom and, of course, I was honored and delighted and suddenly very nervous.  Prom Night - it seemed to me one of the ultimate events of a high school senior (but then not just any high school senior, here was our high school senior).  "Mark, don't screw this up…" was ringing in my head…

But then they began showing up to our location and I realized it really didn't matter what I did cuz they were so grand and so beautiful and so happy to be done and to be just a step or two away from a huge milestone so really I didn't do a thing but snap off some shots and then they were gone - off to dinner, off to laugh, off to enjoy the beautiful gowns, the fedoras, and marvel at this wonderful change in scenery.

As I did some editing of the images I captured, I was reminded of my favorite commencement speech that was never given (written by Mary Schmich and attributed, incorrectly, to Kurt Vonnegut) with her admonition to "enjoy the power and beauty of your youth".  That evening, power and beauty was there for all to see and while it might well of been missed by the very individuals in possession of same, to the parents in attendance it was a marvel to witness. I look now at photos of my own sweet self from 30 years ago and my oh my…..   

So I look at these images and it is easy to get all teary-eyed and nostalgic and wonder at the illusion of looking back and we tell ourselves, "make no mistake, it took 18 years of our lives to get here - this was not the mere blink of an eye -  and what a wonderful amazing journey it has been."  Would i do it again?  in a heartbeat.

There were, of course, lots of images from this session and while I maintain that each one is a wonder…. I have to admit, well, you know….  here, it's not the image or the message but the subject that holds this photographer so mesmerized….

I remain

sincerely yours.