REWIND... TLH Graduation 2011

While taking 3-4 month sabatical from photography to try starting a Mary Kay business, I fell WAY behind on my blogs. I am starting a little series that I am calling REWIND to gradually catch everyone up.

These photos are from this year's homeschool graduation in Tallahassee, FL. This was a different experience for me since I didn't have a sibling graduating this year, but I knew SEVERAL of the students because my mom has tutored most of them in high school science (Biology, Chemistry, Anatomy, etc.) for years.

Aside from a little confusion and disorganization at rehearsal, the day went off without a hitch. Well, yes... there is my nearly catastrophic underestimatinon of how many photos my new CF cards could hold in the d300s I had rented. Emily and I spent the 30 minutes prior to graduation scrambling to download images onto a borrowed laptop that my Dad was gracious enough to drop off for us. Phew! Next time, Ally, don't forget to download the photos from yesterday's session BEFORE you try to shoot a graduation!

And then there's trying to shoot the group photos outside at NOON... yes, I know that's like the positively worst light to try to shoot in, but you work with what you have, and overall, the photos came out well! Like I've said before, I like a challenge! It grows me as a photographer and helps me with my cardiovascular health... i.e. raises my heartrate. ;)

The ceremony was really nice. There are two things I LOVE about homeschool graduations. First, you actually learn something about each student because as they walk across the stage the speaker reads a 30 second blurb about their accomplishments and aspirations. Second, several of the students partipated in the ceremony through signing, prayer or a speech. This year, I also had the pleasure of hearing (and shooting) my Dad, who had been invited to speak to the graduates! Boy, did he rip a new one to people who are down on homeschooling! Well, not exactly, but he did such a beautiful job of expressing the positive reasons for and results of homeschooling, like consistently reinforcing Christian morals through living life with your kids, and explaining the sacrifices homeschooling parents make. I hope the family members who came who might have been less than supportive during the process left the ceremony with a new-found respect for these kids and the sacrifices their parents made to keep them at home. :)

The reception afterwards was in the lobby of the church, which was glorious because the front wall is ENTIRELY composed of windows. YAY! Natural light! And after I had "enough" candids, I was able to walk around and reconnect with old friends (and current ones too). Ahh... what a perfect end to a crazy... but wonderful... day!