Laurie and Aidan

Although time and distance can separate two people, it doesn't necessarily have to affect their relationship. I discovered this when I met up with Laurie on Monday. Laurie and I used to work together. We didn't work in the same location or even the same city, but we saw each other at meetings, training and whenever everyone went out for some drinks. We always had fun together, but were also able to talk about some more serious topics. It's been over a year since we last saw each other (we both lost our jobs), but it felt like we picked up right where we left off.

I met Laurie and her son, Aidan, at her house in Erie. She had a location already picked out, so we hopped into her car and headed over. When we arrived, I couldn't have been happier. She chose a trail right by a river, but there were a bunch of open spaces with tall grass, colorful bushes and mossy trees. What a great variety of scenery!

We started out with the "cheesy smiles" and "goofy faces" photos, just to get loosened up a bit. I've got to say, Aidan is the master of the Goofy Face. He can get more different looks out of his face than any kid I've seen! I could tell that Laurie was not as amused as I was, so I stopped encouraging him to make faces, but once in a while when his smile started to look a little forced, I told him to take a break and make some goofy faces. He was more than happy to oblige.

Although the weather was brisk and the light was fading, we were able to get two different outfits into our shoot. Laurie looked great and Aidan behaved himself. We got to spend some time catching up and came away with some great photos. Things will always change: kids grow up, we get older, people come and go from our lives. That's why we take photographs, to remember those moments that we can't get back. But, as I learned with Laurie, it's nice to know that sometimes things don't change.

You can see more photos from the shoot here.