In and Around the Lake

For Labor Day our family met at Smith Mountain Lake in southwestern Virginia. Most of the shots that I took were candid "point and shoot" type images... just your typical pictures you'd take on a family vacation. Nothing super artistic... just glimpses at our fun activities on the lake.

But it's always special to see a group of young cousins get together. Time flies and special memories are created day by day. That's why these pictures will be important one day, as a trigger in their minds about carefree summer days swimming in a lake.

While no one likes the "super posed" shot, I had to force all the kiddies together on the dock. Perhaps a tradition will be born and we can repeat this next year.

The cousins together on the dock.

My little two year old niece was a bit shy around me and didn't appreciate my following her around with a camera. I tried. But this image was as close to a smile as I got from her, and for some reason, I really liked the shot. Her expression says to me: "I'm thinking about smiling, but won't give you the full deal. I'm smarter than that."

 I loved this image of these two brothers smiling at their dad as he jumped into the lake. They soon followed him in.

 My favorite shot (from an artistic point of view) was my daughter jumping in the water first thing in the morning. She was just a silhouette, but this was a simple joy... to leap through the air and plunge into the cool water below. They must have done this a million times over three days.

The favorite activity of the weekend.

Hope everyone had a chance this holiday weekend to create great memories with family and friends.