The Secrets of Summer: Herring Family

“Lord: it's time. The summer was magnificent.  Lay your shadows upon the sun-dials  and o'er the isles allow your winds to vent. Command the final fruits to be full and fine;  give them two more days in the southern sun,  push them to completion and then run  the last sweetness through the heavy wine”
Rilke

The Herring family photo session was a true ode to summer. One that I didn’t realise I needed. It felt like one of the final days in the true southern sun.

It was 4:30pm and we prepared for our mile hike into the wilderness (okay… it was a walking trail with a coffee shop at the end, but I got sweaty enough to feel like a true-blue wilderness hiker).

Brett reached out to me through a mutual friend, and told me she wanted a family session done that emphasised the summer-time.

I've often been curious about people who are fond of summer, how those who savor the season must possess an unbridled sense of self- assuredness. To me, The summer feels too vulnerable. It beckons continually, like a fun, overzealous friend who wants you to be your best self. Summer calls us to awaken, embrace the light of truth, grow the gardens of our hearts, do the hard work of sowing before the reaping. Summer people are here for the terrifying whimsy of insects. They accept the uncomfortable parts of the natural world, standing firmly resolute in the face of perspiration.

This I found true of the Herring family. They embodied a willingness to push the final fruits of summer to their sweet completion, as Rilke portrays. A time that so many, including myself, fail to appreciate amidst the summons of a crisp autumnal beckoning, which calls us to a different, more private reverence.

Brett met her husband Collin in Austin, Texas. They are artists in their own right, and make a living in the world of beautifying dwelling places and helping people create a little slice of heaven for themselves here on earth.

They have two incredible babies, Dove and Ames.

When I heard the name Dove, I immediately thought of the Holy Spirit, which is what the dove often symbolises in Christianity. I felt that she lived up to her name in this way.

Romans 8:26:

“In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.”

Dove entered most frames as a profound, unassuming helper. She took whatever was going on and magnified the love. She coaxed genuine smiles, amplified benevolence, exposed emotions, and helped connect every person to something more divine, all through the gentle sway of her gracious presence.

As a photographer, when I didn’t quite know what shot I wanted to get, she was there to pull it all together in a way that made sense.

It was a dove that signalled the end of the flood. When Jesus was baptized, the heavens were opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in the form of a dove.

Only in a child can you see the kind of resolute innocence that would signal the end of tragedy or embody hope. Peaceful, gentle, and good.

Dove had this spirit about her.

Her brother Ames, was tactile, sweet and spirited. He was a true water baby- He loved the feel of the cold stones under his tiny toes. He wanted to notice and move.

But mostly, he wanted banana bread

The most interesting thing I could see in his little face was his capacity for love that manifested itself in a kaleidoscope of disarming expressions, each one somehow tailored to the individual family member before him. He was animated in a way that made his soul seem quite old, trapped in a 16 month old body.