San Diego Family in Park City | Snow + Smiles
This past holiday season, we had a lot of snow. Which is assumed when you live in a ski town, but these storms can wreak havoc when you’ve got back-to-back-to-back family sessions that were booked months in advance as well as around other activities that the family has also carefully scheduled. It’s all well & good to say in August that we’re going to do an outdoor session on December 20th at 10am, for example, but when 9.45am on 12/20 rolls around and it’s white-out conditions and the family is busy every other day of the week skiing or sleigh’ing or sledding, you risk losing your booking if we can’t successfully reschedule.
Anyway, none of that was applicable to this shoot because, no matter what, I was making it happen. The mom in these photos — a sassy Brit photographer named Susie — is someone that’s become an important friend to me. We ‘met’ years ago via social media and then, in real life, when Susie was in Park City on vacation from her home in San Diego. At the time, we’d been chatting long enough online that I was genuinely fired up to meet her, so I invited her to join us on a rather large shoot we were tackling (an all-day family studio session held at the Kimball Art Center). Within two seconds of seeing her in real life, I knew we’d be real friends. We just connected in that way that you rarely do but, when you know, you know. We were old friends in another two seconds, and by the time the shoot was over, we were plotting the next time we’d get to see each other.
Unfortunately, it was two years until we were able to get together again; but it was worth the wait. Susie & her family were in Park City over the recent holidays and I was SO HAPPY when she wanted to do a family session (AND she loves black & white images, and so do I, so I had more leeway than usual in not forcing color images that I think would look better in timeless b&w). The thing is: shooting for friends — especially fellow photographer friends — is scary in the sense that you just want to kill it. I mean, I always want to kill it, but seeing the look on a friend’s face when you’ve captured the essence of her family (the people that comprise her world)? There’s nothing like it. That might be when I most feel like a success.
Anyway, on the day of the shoot, of COURSE we woke up to a blizzard that wouldn’t cut us any slack. V & I were homebound since our entire mountain was unplowed and there was no way to get our car out. But, no matter, cuz this was happening. We were going to get out. Somehow. I’d cleared the day for this one shoot, so I wasn’t worried about what time of day we shot… but, it was the only day we could shoot (for both me and Susie), so every half hour, we were texting each other, ‘what’s the plan?’ ‘still no plow… another 30 minutes?’ until it got a little scary cuz it was getting late, and the snow was dumping, and I really didn’t know what to do.
Cue a huge truck plowing my street (finally) and a frantic text to Susie, ‘WE’RE OUT! LET’S GO!’ Ten minutes later, we were all at the White Barn and basically up to our knees in powder with fresh flakes cascading by the minute from the sky. Again, no matter, cuz this was happening.
And so it happened (proof below!). I got to see my new-old friend and meet/goof around with her wonderful family (look at how much these people like each other!!) while these San Diegans braved the freezing wetness. After the shoot, we hit up one of my fave spots, High West Distillery, where my soul was nourished by a few hours of catching up and generally awesome convo. I was so sad to part ways with her in the dark, blizzardy streets after our hang out sesh, but I know we’ll be seeing each other soon. We’ll just have to make it so.
