Ginger's 90th Birthday Supper
I met my girlfriend's family for the first time around Christmas 2018, which was also the 90th Birthday celebration for her Grandma, Ginger-an amazingly spry woman with nine children and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Meeting a family of this size is daunting. I wanted to get to know them and for them to know me, but this was a very busy time of celebration. So after some thought, I realized that while it would be impossible to shoot everyone at once-to properly pose and light them in the small space and limited time available, that shooting one on one was the best way to have a moment with each, to actually learn their names and get to know them a bit. I even got the grandchildren involved finding me props (like a deck of Pinochle cards, Ginger's favorite game) for the table or holding reflectors. I shot this in Ginger's low, dark basement using the gear I was traveling with, which included some hand-painted canvas backdrops I'd made, one continuous light and a DIY scrim. The resulting composite was then a gift I could share with the family, so they'd remember me too.
I was inspired by a painting hung in Ginger's dinette of the Last Supper. They are all practicing Catholics, and I knew this concept would be meaningful to them. This was a stretch for me, as it is my first large composite, but I was inspired and driven to make a memory and am so glad I did.