This is the Townley family! I had the pleasure of photographing this family (and their four-legged companion) the day after Christmas! You guys I so appreciate this family. They are incredibly kind and patient and their flexibility during the holiday season was something I’ll never forget.

Mr. Townley is a Humanities teacher at George Jenkins High School here in Lakeland. GJ is my alma mater, but sadly I never had Mr. Townley as a teacher. I must say, this was a huge bummer because Mr. Townley is definitely one of the coolest and most loved teachers at Jenkins. I’m convinced some students take humanities just to have Townley has their teacher and may (this could get edgy) not even care about the subject of humanities. I know this, because I myself almost did that, but was steered away from my plan by my guidance counselor. Instead she made me take Anatomy because she thought it would be “better on my transcript” …. Anatomy was one my least favorite classes I took during my four years at Jenkins, darn you guidance counselor. I believe students love to have Mr. Townley as a teacher because he makes learning fun. He’s not just a teacher to his students, but also someone who listens to them and makes them feel like they’re “somebody.” To me, that’s exactly what a good teacher is. Not just someone who teaches the material well, but someone who takes the time to get to know and love his or her students. Mr. Townley does just that and I will regret always not taking Humanities before graduating from high school.

Anyways… this shoot was fun! The weather was beautiful and I loved that the family brought their dog, Molly. This dog has been their companion for several years now and for being an older pup she was in high spirits and did amazingly well while being photographed. I have to say, there’s nothing better than a really good dog 🙂 Also on this shoot there was some wildlife spottings! No, despite the fact we were at Circle B, we did not spot any dino-sized alligators, for which I am glad. We did see wild hogs and these HUGE Jurassic Park looking birds with red faces. Molly wanted to chase them so badly! Conversations consisted mostly of where the Townley’s were going to eat dinner that night (which I believe they landed on Longhorn… good choice)! Also, there were several puns peppered in by Pun Master Hannah Townley. All this unfolded while illegally having Molly on Circle B’s grounds. We had to take a photo by the “no pets allowed” sign, just to hilariously stick it to the man. Sometimes it’s better the ask for forgiveness than permission! Here are some highlights from the Townley family session!