I have been a photographer since following my dad around during the summers on the 70’s as a small boy. Dad was a high-school teacher and during the summer months he would use his time to get out in rural Maine and do everything from landscapes to portraits. That time has always been special to me and what became my initial draw to photography.

In subsequent years things like high-school, college, military duty, full time employment, and then a family turned me into a family photographer taking nothing more than snaps. I didn’t have the time to not only photograph projects, but a darkroom was a daunting task in time management.

In the summer of 2004 everything changed for me. I was in New York visiting on of our ships on Staten Island and on the way home I stopped by B&H Photo thinking I would by a little P&S. They had two D70’s in stock with the 18-70 kit lens and on a whim a plunked down a thousand bucks and walked out wondering if I was crazy. The entire drive back to Boston I kept thinking I should return it, but when I got home and opened up the box and started shooting I knew I had found something special.

I used it a couple of times and then we went on a family vacation and my passion for photography was reignited. The lag and frustration of a P&S were left behind and I felt like I was shooting with my dad’s old Minolta. I finally had the images I wanted.

The image above is THE PHOTOGRAPH that opened my eyes.

MacDonald is 5 in this picture. He suffered a stroke at birth and has a condition called hemi-paresis which is a mild form of cerebral palsy. Mac is a kid who works harder than anyone around him to physically keep up, but always has a grin on his face. His older brothers and sister were running ahead to catch bugs in their milk jugs and Mac had to give 100% to just keep at a pace 30 yards behind them. My heart sank and then he looked at me and said “don’t be sad” and gave me a grin and ran even faster to catch up. The image of him running away from me up the hill is my favorite photograph that I have made. It may not be the strongest technically or aesthetically, but it is the closest to my heart.

The little boy running up that hill is my son.

I look at this photograph every single day to find inspiration. It’s the one thing I would like tucked into my coat, when God willing, they bury me 50 years from now.

Here are some over wedding photography and planning related sites that I found for you to browse. Thanks for visiting Mark Andrew Photography!

Southern Weddings Magazine
New York Times Wedding Resources
Wed Luxe
100 Layer Cake Blog
Snippet and Ink

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