For My Auntie B

When they tell me about how they met, it kinda feels like a movie. Scene: The Hardware Store, Somewhere in Arizona. In enters B, hair a mess and simply looking for lightbulbs. There’s a man standing in the middle of the aisle, his head cocked to the side, ear to the ceiling. As she approaches, he catches her eye. 

“It’s a good song.”

“I can’t hear it,” she responds honestly.

“That’s the point.” She said his smile crinkled his eyes. “They should turn it up.”

He stood there in the middle of the aisle and began to ask her question after question: If money was no object what would you do with your life? Are you creative? What do you like? 

From there they were nearly inseparable. B drove home with her lightbulbs, and the one inside her head went off: she knew she would be with Mark forever.

B is my Aunt. She raised me in this village of New Hampton, NH, every summer as a kid until I was a teen…and then I moved up here to finish high school in one of the most beautiful hidden gems of New England. Tucked away in this tiny village is a fascinating little industry nugget: a fish hatchery. I remember summers as a little girl going there with my quarter to feed the giant, beautiful salmon orbiting beneath their strange domes that looked like spaceships. Sneaking off in high school to check it out, before forgetting about it because boys were more interesting. Coming back again as an adult, and realizing wait, this place is really cool.

Without her I would not have discovered this school. This place where my heart was born. This place where I first picked up a camera, where I first fell in love with golden hour, where I first fell in love.

We thought it would be fun to do some photos celebrating their marriage in this strange and very New Hampton hidden staple spot. The sun was low enough in the day to cast dramatic rhythmic shadows of lines and curves, and the fish were hungry for some kibble. We had some fun in the golden sun and by the end of it our faces hurt from smiling.

It was very special to be able to do this for my aunt. I have never seen her so happy. Mark’s a pretty cool guy, too, and they’re both extremely in love. I’m excited to see the adventures they’re going to go on, because if there’s one thing my aunt is real good at, it’s that. Mark meets her energy very well, so I think this is a real good match.