the other day two old friends from out of town came to stay with us… you know how sometimes, when you’ve known someone a long time, you can just pick up where you left off? well that’s what mike and denise are like. since our two families met at church over 15 years ago, we’ve been through a lot (together and separately); life has tossed us our fair shares of trials and triumphs – but that’s the thing about real friendship: it just doesn’t matter. even though we have lived in different cities now for far longer than we lived nearby, it’s just like it was yesterday each time we get together.

“what you see is what you get”; one of denise’s favourite sayings about herself – and that’s a philosophy i have a lot of time for. there’s something so refreshing about spending time with them – not only their straightforwardness, but their cheeky sense of fun and appreciation for simple things. i am thankful to count them among my truest friends. we miss you guys… come back again soon!

while they were visiting i grabbed these headshots to update their photos on their driving school website:

ps… the lyrics reference in the title of this post was intended! 🙂

just a quick post to share a portrait of someone i have a great deal of respect for: john, our local primary school principal.

in my experience the principal’s influence can make or break a school over time – and john’s school has benefited hugely from having a man of his talents and passion for education at the helm. he’s one of those ‘hands-on’ proactive headmasters: meeting kids at the drop-off zone in the mornings, playing sports on the field at lunchtime, supervising the road crossing in the rain, dressing as various characters or getting dunked underwater to raise funds for the school – even coming in on the weekend to help weed the grounds! yet he commands the respect of the students and is well liked by the staff and parents – no mean feat!

but most of all: our family is honoured to call him our friend 🙂 thanks for the opportunity to shoot your portrait john!