In 1998 a cute little movie was
released called “You’ve Got Mail” starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. Basic
premise: Two business owners hate each other but unknowingly fall in love over
the internet. At one point in the movie, as the relationship
between the two is growing, Meg Ryan’s character says “I turn on my computer. I
wait patiently as it connects. I go online. My breath catches in my chest until
I hear 3 little words, "You've got mail." Do you remember the days of
dial-up internet and America On-line? Do you remember the anticipation of
hearing those three words? You’ve got mail…I used to LOVE hearing that. It
meant someone wanted to connect with you. Someone thought you were important
enough to e-mail. Now days our in-boxes get loaded with messages for tax help and
foreign lottery winnings and the “you’ve got mail” rush isn’t as exciting. But
I’ve found a way to resurrect that rush…
I’ve got a separate e-mail
account for my photography business and my phone regularly checks for new
messages. When there is e-mail waiting for me a little camera shutter sound plays
and I know someone is interested in my business. I have to admit…I smile every
time I hear that sound :-). About three weeks ago, while I was at OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science
and Industry) with Asher and Cami that sweet little shutter sound played as I
received an e-mail from a new client named Michele.
It turned out she and her
husband Paul were in the Portland area for a week before heading back home to
Alaska. Michele was 30 weeks pregnant at the time and was looking to get
maternity photos taken. Since they were on such a tight schedule, I rearranged
a few things and met them a few days later for the shoot.
Meeting new clients is
always a little bit interesting. You see, being photographed just sits
differently with people. Some have no problem at all. They’re fairly social,
willing to let you into their lives a bit and bring out their personality for
the shoot. Others are locked up like Fort Knox. You can crack jokes, act like a
fool, try to target their interests, and if all else fails talk about the
weather…and you’ll get nothing more than a grunt and a shrug. Michele and Paul
were not Fort Knox…not in the least :-)
From the moment I walked
into the house I felt at ease. Paul immediately cracked a joke about the photo
session not really being “his thing”. He was more than willing to let Michele
take the lead on this one because he knew just how important this shoot was to
her. In fact, there were a few times he referred to her as “boss”. I got the
feeling that this was a loving title Paul tends to use often when addressing his
lovely wife:-). Michele had a couple ideas for images she wanted to capture and while
we posed and positioned Paul told me about his dentistry work in Alaska. Turns
out dentistry in such a remote area isn’t quite like working here in the lower
48. Paul regularly hops on little puddle jumpers and flies from village to
village seeing patients and meeting their needs. By far the most amazing
statistic he shared was the number of extractions (pulled teeth to you and me)
he performed in 2011, are you ready for this…a little over 2000! Paul pulled a
little over 2000 teeth last year, are you kidding me! I guess you’ve got to
have a sense of humor when you are regularly diving into decade mouths.
Michele and Paul simply have
a way of making you feel like family and I’m certain I would have invited them
over for dinner…if it weren’t for the fact that they live nearly 3,000 miles away.
Paul and Michele, thanks so much for a fun afternoon. Blessings on the new
addition to your family and Paul…here’s to hoping that the extraction number
drops a little in 2012!
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