JFHS MARCHING CAVALIERS: The Red Umbrella (2025)

when I volunteered to document this season of my oldest daughter's high school marching band, it was mostly a selfish move to try to pull myself out of the darkness of feeling like my work didn’t matter. it was sort of a test to see if I could find the joy in making photos again.

what I didn’t expect was to fall in love with these high school kids. Jane’s friends are some of the kindest, smartest, funniest, most talented people I’ve ever met. they’re respectful and friendly and just an all around fun hang.

after I shared some pictures from the first competition, Jane and I had a fascinating conversation. she told me that she’s noticed that for the most part, the photos her friends post online are typical “kid playing an instrument” closeup shots. (we have some other band parents who get incredible photos of the shows every weekend.) but! Jane said that she frequently has friends and other band members mention to her how much they love the in-between pictures of them that I’ve taken—the hugs or high-fives after a successful run, the wet grass on sneakers, the doubled-over laughter at a picnic table—but these don’t necessarily get shared. and that’s kind of the point. I’ve always said to my family clients that these photos aren’t for Facebook: they’re for you to remember how a moment felt when you look back on it.

it seems like the kids get it, this celebration and appreciation of little moments, and I am so grateful that they let me into their lives to document it.