Nathaniel, Paige, and I took a small walk yesterday afternoon. We found this empty, undeveloped lot overlooking a beautiful expanse of open, grassy field. The lot didn’t have much except a few short mounds of dirt and gravel and two big construction trucks. At first, I thought that I’d try to get a few pictures of my kids among the blooming wild mustard and tall grass. After all, what could be more lovely than children tra-la-la-ing in nature? And I did get a few shots. After kicking around and carrying big lumps of dirt here and there (as kids just love to do), though, we decided to take a closer look at the trucks.

Nathaniel must have been in heaven. Nathaniel loves vehicles of all sorts, but he really loves trucks the most. You should see him sprint to the window on garbage day when the garbage truck comes rumbling and creaking down the street. You should also see his tears if, by chance, he misses the garbage truck. He never usually gets a chance to get up close to big, dirty trucks. This must have been a treat.

I usually take softer, more feminine portraits, so this setting was really refreshing and different for me. I really love the grittiness and the various textures. All the dirt and grunge were in contrast to the smooth and lovely innocence of children. Grass and flowers are beautiful, but you can’t find too many big, geometric shapes in nature. I’m really loving the results of this little turn of events.