DEANNA DUSBABEK
photography
meet
THE SISTERS
I admit to having a great passion for redheads. I was a redhead once, but mine came out of a box and after two weeks or so, it looked like muddy rust. I was never a gloriously appointed, true flame-headed wonder, like these two sisters, Samantha and Olivia.
Redheads invariably remind me of the Romantic Era. When I meet one, I instantly create images in my head of all the photographs I could take of him/her. So when the opportunity arose to craft an outdoor photo session with these beauties, nothing was going to stop me. I was a Bainbridge Island photographer on a mission. With vintage wardrobe from wonderful Maple Grove Cottage in Poulsbo, WA, how could we go wrong?
​
We timed the session to hit the "golden hour," when the sun in the girls' long red hair would be just right. We met about two hours before sunset in a hidden gem: the community garden cared for by volunteers from the neighborhood's Eagle Harbor Congregational Church.
​
It's one of the most magical places I've ever seen: everything is tame and wild at the same time. And around every corner, a vignette just waiting to be captured. So hidden is it, I'd no idea it was there until I went scouting for local spots--it turned out to be the perfect outdoor portrait setting for our session.
​
the
EVENING
Samantha and Olivia brought their mom, Pam, and their aunt, Deanna. I brought the refreshments and we made a little picnic out of the evening in the potting shed. "This, " I thought, "is a great answer to the question we who live here are constantly asked: what is there to do on Bainbridge Island?"
​
Book a family portrait photographer for a session. Then you have a lifetime of tangible memories.
But I digress. We plucked our way with care along well tended paths to chase the amber rays as they leaned into the horizon. The evening birds kept a eye on us, but other than their company, we had the garden to ourselves.
​
Each idyllic nook we discovered found me shrieking with delight as the sun illuminated one of Samantha or Olivia's copper curls. Oh, that light...
​
Eventually, the sun did tuck in for the night, and the bugs made an aggressive, albeit joyful, appearance, a reminder that even in a storybook setting, things are not always perfect. As we hugged good night, I had a moment of real sadness that our session was over and that light was gone, and the redheads with it.
But this is the real purpose of photography, isn't it? To capture moments that will never repeat, so that your life is documented and future generations will know you.
​
And I'm the lucky one who gets to be there to press the shutter.
​
Many thanks to the Eagle Harbor Congregational Church Community Garden volunteers who were kind enough to allow us into their magnificent space for a few hours. It was a truly lovely evening.
​
