Tonight’s song is Good Old Days by Pink.
What would you do if you took a day off work to go to a place that you love? A place that inspires you? What would you do if you knew that the whole experience were going to be photographed?
Last Friday was the first time I’ve started this new adventure in photography. I’ve always wanted to create an project where I can spend time with my favorite people in the world and do something fun and spontaneous. I pitched the idea to my sister-in-law Kirstin back in May and she said yes! We chose last Friday and put it on the calendar. I had no idea where we were going or what we were doing and that is my only condition. Kirstin brought me to Wellesley College because of her love of learning, bookstores and college campuses.
I had never been to Wellesley before and it really is a gorgeous campus. We started by checking out an art exhibit in the Wellesley College Museum. They have an exhibit going on right now featuring many of Madeline Albright’s pins that she wore as Secretary of State. Unfortunately they didn’t allow any photography inside. I thought it was pretty cool that Madeline Albright had 2 pins by Alfons Mucha, who just happens to be my favorite artist. I thought that was a pretty good omen and Kirstin’s own totem of sorts, a wall filled with origami hummingbirds.
After the pins we checked out the rest of the museum and talked about art. 
I feel like that shot should be an album cover from the 80s.
This was Kirstin’s favorite but she couldn’t say why she liked it or what she thought it meant.
My favorite part about this project is that I want to get to know people better. I feel like the older I get, the easier it gets to fall into the trap of knowing only knowing my friends and family on a very basic level. I don’t have as many adventures as I did back in my teens and early twenties. The first thing I feel like I took away from this was that Kirstin is super inquisitive.
I’ve always known that she has lots of interests and tons of ideas but I was amazed that after nearly 5 hours, I felt like we could have just kept talking about anything and everything. Education, feminism, politics, philosophy, religion, kids, parents, travel, death. We left no stone unturned. I’ve always loved talking with Kirstin because she will follow me on any tangent and she’s very honest. She’s an open book.
But she’s not a fan of nature and most of it scares her which I found hilarious. I made her pose some shots on a log that was teeming with life. 
Then I got her to crack.
And soon after we had a moment. This was everything I hoped this little adventure would become. We accidentally walked off course while lost in conversation and then came upon this little waterfall next to a fresh pond. I told Kirstin to walk across the grated pathway and then before I knew it, she changed the script.
She chose to walk across the waterfall.
I was not expecting that at all and it was my favorite 30 seconds of the day.
My other favorite thing about this project is it gives people an opportunity to surprise me, maybe even surprise themselves.
After this awesome moment we found ourselves in the middle of a freshly cut soccer field. Kirstin told me that every time she walks across a field like this it makes her want to do a handspring. I told her that she knew by putting that out into the world, she was going to have to do it now.
This led to a full on mini-gymnastics routine.
Thank you Kirstin. Excuse me, Kirstin Pesola McEachern, PhD.
I’d like to do this once a month moving forward. I have someone already in mind for July but if you have an awesome idea and you want join me for a Field Trip, drop me a note at scadoozy@gmail.com.
