Leon Family Portrait Session
On Sunday, I photographed the Leon family. During Alice and Rich Leon’s 35 year marriage, the couple has created a wonderful family. Alice and Rich have two daughters and a few grandchildren. All three generations were at the house for the photo session. Alice wanted to reproduce a family photo taken about twenty years ago in the same room.
When I returned home and viewed the photos, I was amazed that nearly every photo was excellent. I did very little as a photographer. I mostly sat in one place and watched an amazing family.
I was more impressed by the Leon family than my own ability as a photographer. I am a competent photographer. I could become a much better family man.
Alice Ross Leon contacted me, because her family might not have many more family photo shoots. At some level, we all know that our days are limited, but some people know this more than others. The Leon family has established the Richard Leon Foundation. Though Rich and Alice have been married for nearly 35 years, this story has just begun.
I hope to learn more from this family. Seeing them together in this photo above, I can imagine Rich and Alice as a younger couple.
When Rich and Alice are with their grandchildren, I can also see them as… well, as grandparents.
Grandparents and grandchildren conspire against the middle generation. Now that I am a parent, I understand the natural order, and I appreciate that grandparents suddenly discover Lucky Charms or some other unhealthy breakfast food. When Rich was with his grandchildren, he suddenly became playful. He became younger and healthier.
To see more from the afternoon, view the first group of photos here, or
go directly to the slideshow.
Dear Bryan,
You definitely captured us. Your journalistic photography is exactly what I was looking for and absolutely knew you would bring out the multifaceted aspect of our nutty little family. To me the story is more important than the medium. I can look at these pictures and both enjoy, and look back in horror, at how really crazy we are. What you really captured is how much we truly enjoy one another, that is, when we are not threatening to smush one another to pieces!
Thank you so much and thank you for becoming a part of our family, along with the spontaneous visits from our Maxwell Park neighbors, who have for years wiggled our way into each others hearts.
Gratefully,
Alice & family
wonderful!
It was fun. (Many of the comments haven’t transferred from Facebook, so we may lose the online conversation.)
The experience was memorable and I am glad to be able to document it. I was amazed that so many of the pictures were excellent. I really don’t know that I did much. I just seemed to open the shutter and the subjects made the photos. I was just there for the memories.
BF
[…] died on September 5, 2012 in the same house surrounded by the same people. Read my first post from March 2012. View photos from Richard’s Celebration of Art and […]