A few weeks ago, a photographer friend of mine said, “I realized I don’t really love photography, I love people, photography is just my way of meeting them.” and I completely resonate with that. I can’t tell you the top 10 best cameras, the best starter camera, or what flash to buy. What I can tell you is the backstories of each couple I photograph, and how uniquely different each couple is. There are a million ways to love and I love witnessing how each couple interacts with each other.
Meet Orvil + Gertie. Orvil was diagnosed with oral cancer in 2017 but you wouldn’t know by the smile permanently planted on his face. They will be married 66 years in November 2021 and are still in love as ever. They couldn’t keep their eyes off each other. This is truly the kind of love everyone wants. Typically I’ll smooth the skin of my clients, but this time I couldn’t get myself to do it. There’s 88 years of stories in their white hair and those wrinkles. They earned that.
As soon as I shared this story it went viral on Instagram, picked up by several feature accounts, and I was interviewed on Sunny 101.5 to tell their story. I’m overjoyed that so many people got to witness the love between these two.
*I came here to add that sadly Orvil has passed away February 7th, 2022. If you’re reading this, send prayers to his family and his beautiful wife Gertie during this time.
