A vacation with Vickie at Camp Doris in the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge is a wonderful way to circumvent all of the Groundhog Day repeating schedule patterns and instead frolic in a natural environment of amazing new sights, smells, and sounds. Our supplies ran low so we ventured into nearby Medicine Park to forage for fresh coffee and a hot meal. Now fully nourished and caffeinated, Vickie agrees to pose for me in an awesome stone alley.

I see two kids approaching…

They are not staring into a phone!

They are wide-eyed, aware, and present!

I invite them (Eva and Ashton) to enter the frame and suggest judgmental scowls as they gaze at Vickie. They both giggle and immediately play along.

Moments later a man walked up and Eva introduced him as her stepfather. I momentarily worry that he may have perceived us as a threat to the kids. My concerns are extinguished by his easy going disposition and how casually he accepted my invitation to join Eva for a couple shots. Truth is so often the most difficult image to capture because of how guarded most of us live our lives (especially in front of a stranger). Eva, Ashton, and stepfather receive my thanks for representing the Medicine Park essence so kindly. They all happened within a couple of marvelous minutes. I love the sincerity in each image. Eva’s love engulfs every frame. His pride and love for her is…well, pictures say it better than words.