THE DARKROOM PHOTOGRAPHY: October 2011

Eric is one of my best friends. We have many fond memories growing up of acoustic guitars, prom, lar dogg's house and the pekin road blues, la studio, websites, turbo saturns, and much more. When he came to me with the great news that he intended to make his girlfriend Deanna his wife, I was thrilled. I was also excited that he had a great plan to have the whole thing photographed, without her knowing. Byron and I had many talks with Eric and with each other on how we could pull off the super covert operation we dubbed "Project Awesome". Somehow we were going to have to document a proposal in stalker like fashion. Being seen meant ruining the precious moment. Remaining undetected and still catching the frames would be an incredible success. This was something none of us had ever done before.

Twenty-four hours before the event was to take place, Eric called to let me know he had finally made a decision on the when/where/how's. I was in Michigan and somehow had to get myself back in Cleveland with enough time to get into position. Eric, Deanna, and Stephen were going to be enjoying sun rays and the new dock at the Fuhry resort, which left hundreds of acres of surrounding forest as our camouflage. Stephen played the roll of coordinator, acting as the liaison between Byron and me and the soon-to-be engaged couple. We communicated via text messages, and navigated via gut feeling. Using a dust covered rear windshield with a poorly drawn map of the property on it as our guide, Stephen suggested two locations, one for each of us. We established "the Go sign", and wished each other luck. The next hour and a half was spent sneaking, crawling, whispering, and communicating through the cloud while we each found our way to the perfect location. After weeks of planning and what seemed like hours of crawling into position, I found myself directly across the lake behind a tree, laying on the ground, eyes and lens locked on Eric and Deanna as they relaxed at the end of the dock.

And so the photos begin. The first couple images were test shots and capture them sprawled out, Deanna completely unaware that there were two guys with cameras in the woods waiting for what would be one of the most exciting moments of her life.

At this point, Stephen has left to "go back to the cabin", and Eric suggests to Deanna that they should get up to have some lunch. It doesn't take him long, however, to divert her attention back to him. My heart is pumping at this point and I'm nervous. I'm excited for my friend, and I'm excited to get these shots!

Eric was able to get Deanna to come back to him, and he began to tell her how much he loved her.

She looks at him, nervous about what she thinks may be coming.

And then, the ring!!

She leans down and kisses him! I can hear her from across the lake, "really? really!??".

She said YES!

This was probably my favorite shot of the day:

Eric finally clued Deanna in that there were photographers. She couldn't believe it! In this shot, Eric is pointing out Byron who had crawled 200 feet on his stomach to get into position!