I love this photo because of the look captured on my Mom’s face–serene, intense and proud with a hint of sadness.
Mom and my step-dad, Bud, and I ventured to Old St. Pat’s Church on the near westside of Chicago for Christmas morning mass, to listen to Nicole sing. Nicole is my god-daughter, Mom’s oldest grandchild–my sister Katie’s first-born. And Nicole is a gifted musician with a beautiful voice–Nicole is beautiful through and through.
Half-way through mass I turned my Sony A7R2 camera (fitted with my trusty Zeiss 50mm F2 lens) toward Mom, focused on her and snapped off 7 shots, trying to be discreet–I was in church, afterall. This particular photo jumped out at me right away, and so I cropped it in until Mom’s face filled the frame. I just love her expression, and the way Bud’s chin, neck and chest seem to be cradling her face, providing a wonderful frame for this portrait. Sometimes when shooting photos you just get lucky.
Like most folks Mom is not a big fan of photos taken of her, but when I showed her this one she said, “Oh, that’s nice.”
Mom turned 83 in early December. 2017 was not a good year for her, for several reasons, but mostly because her health went awry: She endured three hospital stays and almost died twice. But Mom’s strong and stubborn–she’s exactly half Irish and half German–and so she’s determined 2018 will be better. None of us know what’s going to happen, of course, but I wouldn’t count her out.
Bill Clements
From as far back as he can remember, Bill has been listening to and telling stories. He loves talking with people, hearing about their lives and then making something memorable with what results. He’s spent 30 years in Chicago and the Twin Cities as a journalist writing stories for publications including Chicago magazine, the Chicago Tribune Sunday Magazine and Finance and Commerce. A graduate of Columbia University, Bill has long loved taking still photos. About 10 years ago (on the side, at first), Bill grew fascinated with the possibilities of storytelling through video-making. He is thrilled to be combining his longtime love of people and words and stories with his newer passion for capturing it all on video. Plus, for better or worse, Bill is a staunch, lifelong Cubs fan.