the great wall...

In April of 2005, my son Dusty, his wife Aleah, and their baby Karise were visiting us in California from Germany where he was stationed in the Air Force. Since it had been a few years since all the kids had been in the same zip code, I called on an old friend to see if he could take some photographs of all of them - before everyone flew the coop again.

That old friend is Barry Goyette - a gifted photographer who I originally met when he took PR shots of my daughter Jaime when she was applying to theater programs. You see, he used to do all the photography for PCPA (Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts) I had also seen an exhibit of his in San Luis Obispo, Ca., where he used regular people as his models. These unique portraits were quite stark - black & white and printed life-sized. I never forgot this, so when I called him to photograph the kids, I asked him for that same "look". Barry never disappoints....

here is what he came up with.....

Dusty.....

...plus Aleah & the wee Karise.....

...plus Jaime & Jacob.....

equals....
...one happy family!
This is the composite Barry put together - most people think they were standing together when this was taken.

I had him print this very large, and ordered a few of the individual shots as well. I had Dennis build three "floating" shelves for me, and I came up with this arrangement:

The *F A M I L Y* garland I made from 2" beveled glass - and I think you might spot a couple of familiar paper dolls dangling from corners....

I'm not sure if Barry would approve of me stacking all these photographs against each other - or hanging fun little chatchkes from each corner - but I love it!

Fast forward a few years....we have a new grandchild, and Karise is growing like a weed....

Time for an update.

Since that original photo shoot, we had moved up to Idaho, and Dusty's family was now stationed in Las Vegas. I knew I was going to be in California for a few days last fall, so I called on Barry again, made sure all the *youngsters* could be in Ca. when I was, and we had another session.

Also, Dusty was deployed to Afghanistan, and I thought it would be the perfect Christmas gift for him to open so far away from home...

Here's Karise now, almost four years old!

...and 10 month old Dresden, just getting used to those legs....holding onto mommy's hand....

...and here is the composite Barry put together of the two of them...

...it may look like this is one shot, but again, Barry worked his magic and put two shots together to come up with this one.

Just for fun, here are some examples of why I continue to call on Barry...

Jaime at 18....

This is the album cover Barry did for the CD Jaime recorded in 1996...

...this one is almost like a picture within a picture...I love it's graininess...
Barry used Jaime's image from the above photo shoot for this poster...
Barry also is a master at photographing dance - I love how he not only captures dancers in action....

but how he is able to use them as still life as well...

Want to see more of Barry's work? Click here.

...this is a favorite - little brother and big sister...

Lastly, Barry just put the final touches on a video he directed - if you have never heard Inga Swearingen, you are in for a treat here. I have temporarily taken my playlist off the blog so that you could hear this music. Sit back and enjoy Barry's beautiful photography and Inga's beautiful voice.....

Get ready for another call from your biggest fan Barry - Pammy's Great Wall will need another update....Jaime and Jacob will be adding to our family in early May!

We may need a bigger wall....

Thanks for stopping by,

Pammy
(I even got in the act....)