Have you ever felt like you were being followed?
[Queue the spooky Halloween piano.]
That very thing happened to my family just a few short weeks ago…
The six of us settled into the van ready for our annual trip to the orchard to pick a few bags of fresh New York Apples. It’s always an exciting trip as we stuff our faces with “samples” off the trees to properly select the right mix for our family.
We race, we play.
We pick, we pay.
Then we get back in the van, go home, and pass out from eating 4 apples each.
Something was different this time. Something was very different indeed. The air felt a little heavier in places. The apple trees swayed a bit too much for my comfort. Soft footsteps seemed to trail my own and they weren’t my family members. No, something was off, out of place, eerie, confusing, concerning.
Click. Click-click. Click.
I acted on a hunch and followed the sound of a ticking machine. It couldn’t have been my imagination. The ticking got louder and louder. I darted across a row of apple trees to another, and there they were.
My mind eased initially, knowing that I wasn’t being trailed by some ghoul or ghost. But my mind raced when I considered the magnitude of the situation. I was being followed by the Paparazzi. Right there, in front of me, was a woman pointing a camera at me and my family. She looked the part, toting a bag of supplies and lenses. This could only mean one thing.
I was famous. Dadnamics had finally reached some level of underground viral success that, not even I knew about. This new reality dawned on me like a bath of warm sunshine.
“Am I famous. But I don’t have a lightning scar? How could this be?”
I took a step toward her and just like a deer in the field, she lifted her head from the camera and stared at me for a few seconds. I took another step and asked. “Who are…”
She bolted like the deer. I chased her. “Wait. I’m not going to hurt you. I come in peace.”
Alright, alright. I’m not famous and most of this story was a bit of an… embellishment. But there was a photographer and she was totally following us around. Her name is Kelli of Kelli Evans Photography and she specializes in Family Photojournalism. This is an emerging and extremely creative segment of the photography industry. Kelli schedules photo shoots with families with the intention of literally hiding and following. Her craft is to capture the family in their element, doing the things that real families do, when they do them.
Kelli became a subscriber to Dadnamics several months ago and was so moved by the style of family content I shared that she reached out. So in a sense, I am famous… sort of.
The experience was nothing short of amazing. Kelli spent nearly an hour following us and doing her thing. At the end, she allowed us to get the typical still family shots that most photographers do. It was awesome. She got a blog out of the experience and I got another Dadnamics Live! episode.
Win-win.
