A very special session...

This past weekend I along with 3 other photographer friends of mine had the very special opportunity to capture the return of some very special and brave seabees as they returned from their 7 month tour in Iraq. No matter how many times you are lucky enough to be a part of this amazing experience it is never any less special or any less emotional. These families were so amazing and of course overjoyed to see their seabees return safely from Iraq. It is NEVER easy to keep focused behind the camera to capture these very special moments. Im not sure that I could possibly put into words how wonderful of an experience this truly is. Together we shot more than 350 images so its hard to pick only a few to share, but is a sneek peak of a few of my favorite images.

This is the "J" family. You may remember the the adorable kiddos from a previous session I did while dad was still deployed. After our session I mailed a complimentary session album to dad in Iraq, he was so happy and greatful, he kept thanking me when we had this opportunity to meet....as if I am the one that deserves thanks...he is the one fighting for our Country...he is the one that really deserves the thanks. The album is only a small token of thanks from me to him. Kurt, I can only hope that the images I captured for you upon your return mean as much to you as the first session did. Here is a sneak peak from your homecoming!

Now this shot needs a bit of explaination. This is dad with "squirtle" very special friend of his youngest daughter. Before dad deployed to Iraq she asked him to bring along her very favorite stuffed animal "squirtle", he of course couldnt imagine taking her favorite stuffed animal for 7 long months, but she insisted that he take it as it would keep him safe while he was there. Of course, after that request he knew he must take squritle with him. Not only did squirtle go to Iraq but he traveled everywhere with dad, anywhere and everywhere he went squirtle came to. They also played a fun game of find squirtle, whenever dad would send pics home or video he would hide squirtle in the background somewhere for the kids to find in the picture. Dad says that if he deploys again he will be bringing along one of each of his 3 kids toys.