Monday, November 05, 2007
Day 5 - Alternative
This Thursday I have a meeting with one such couple. To be more exact, I actually haven't been in touch with the couple at all, but a wedding planner. Which is also a first. I've been chatting back and forth with this planner and it occured to me the other day that I knew nothing about the actual couple, so I asked for details.
Imagine my surprise when the planner writes back that it is a gay couple, two women, who are getting married. My first thought was excitement. I never even considered that I might be able to photograph gay weddings! See, I grew up visiting our family home on Fire Island in an exclusively gay community. I wasn't so much taught tolerance, I just wasn't ever encouraged to see any difference between these people and any other people. So I didn't.
My excitement over the prospect faded pretty quickly when I realized that I wasn't the only person in this company. See, while I'm completely accepting of homosexuals and marriages between two people who love and are committed to each other, I still understand that not everyone feels that way. And I really do try my best to keep an open mind for those people as well. I know that people are brought up differently, and I certainly would want someone who wasn't as accepting to at least give ME the benefit of trying to understand how it is that I can feel as strongly as I do. (did I just talk you in circles enough?) So when I finally had the conversation with my partner about our couple, I tried to keep an open mind toward him as well. But truth be told, I'm worried.
But, I am going to do my level best to be a real, good part of their day. All love should be celebrated, don't you agree? And awe heck, even if you don't agree, I'll still respect that you have that opinion. Even if I don't understand it.
Oh, but I should also say that while I'm excited, I think its just a little unfair that the wedding planner didn't mention the fact that the couple was gay. I do think its a little unfair to me, but mostly its unfair to the couple. What if I wasn't who I was and I showed up at our meeting and reacted poorly? That would have been horrible...
In NaBloPoMo buiness: I am keeping up with my daily picture taking, and proudly I'm actually keeping up with it! I've got the backup computer today though, so no picture posting today. But really, this works to my advantage! Now on a NaBloPoMo day were I just don't have anything to write about, I'll bust those out.
At any rate, if you're in NaBloPoMo and I haven't visited you, or this is your first time here at Putting Out Fires, leave me a comment so I can come back and visit you as well.
Ok, Ok, one picture. But I warn you, we have limited photo subjects hanging around here.... So I give you Miss Karma D. Bear and her duck for some Monday cuteness. When she runs with that duck in her mouth she looks like a real lab! :-)
posted by atpanda at 5:43 PM
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About Me
- Name: atpanda
- Location: Mesa, Arizona, United States
I'm Amanda. I'm an engineer in an industry full of men, a professional wedding and family portrait photographer, a firefighter's wife, a traveler, and a dogMa.
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5 Comments:
I completely agree that the wedding planner should have told you about the couple, though you're lucky to have asked but even more so, the couple is so very lucky to have you as a photographer with a great understanding attitude and awesome talent!
I agree with your post as well. But it's too bad that there is a need to "tell" people. I suppose there was a time in our history when we had to "tell" a photographer (or caterer or florist or whatever) if the wedding was a mixed-race couple - or maybe in some parts of the country they still do?? Hopefully our tolerance of gay couples will only increase over the years.
Thanks to the visit to my site!
Hey Amanda! Thanks for visiting my site and leaving me a comment! I could not imagine NOT having daylight savings time, turning the clocks back, etc. You're lucky. AZ is a beautiful place (I visited Phoenix once) and I hope to get back there someday. Fighting fires here is hot; I've always wondered how the Bravest in the Southwest do it! You wrote on Day 4 that this was feeling like a chore. Are you talking about NaBloPoMo, or something else? Take a look back at my postings for last November. Some were just a line or two. Keep the faith! -- Jonny
I really like this post - I, too, was lucky enough to grow up tolerant without thinking about it. Now I'm working on being tolerant toward the intolerant. No small feat.
p.s. your husband and I have the same birthday (but I'm two years older) :)
I just checked out your portfolio...NICE!!! Have a great time at this wedding :-)
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