My husband works hard. He always has. When we were first married he worked night and day trying to build a client base as a loan officer in the middle of a recession. Once we had our children and he decided to go to law school, he worked days, went to school at night and studied until three and four in the morning so I could stay home with our two young children. And after he graduated and we moved to London where he worked with one of the largest law firms in the world, he worked the hours of a first year attorney while his family toured around England seeing places he didn’t have time to see. He works hard not just because it is his personality but because he loves his family.
But he isn’t all work. He is also pretty good at playing. He runs and plays soccer when he can but what he really loves is photography. We generally take two cameras on our outings. One for me, so I can take family snapshots. Another one for him that is used for the one truly creative and relaxed part of his life. He doesn’t go out on his own and take time away from the family. He doesn’t lose himself in his hobby to the extent that we feel ignored. Instead he has found a hobby and a passion in photography that allows him to spend time with us and still make beautiful photographs.
This summer as we made our way up and down the coast of Maine, we would drive down long dirt roads in search of scenery worth shooting. The kids and I would clamber over rocks while he composed the perfect shot. And eventually, after gathering stones and shells and climbing onto the tallest rocks, someone would get bored and want to move on to the next spot. Usually whining would ensue and at some point we would have to move on. After one of these particularly whiny sessions, I heard Blaise talking to himself. “I bet Ansel Adams never had to deal with this,” he muttered and I laughed. But the truth is Ansel Adams didn’t have to deal with whining from family.
For Ansel Adams photography was more than a hobby and more than a profession. It was an obsession. He didn’t head out and spend time with his family while partaking in his passion. Instead he spent all of that time behind the lense alone. My husband could do the same thing. Though he doesn’t have visions of being the next Ansel Adams he could let photography take over his free time. He could leave early in the morning and head out to the bay or up to the mountains and take beautiful photos but I don’t think it would be the same for him. He loves photography but sharing that love with his family is what is really drives him.
Because it is important to him and because he does work hard to compose beautiful photographs, I wanted to dedicate today’s post to my husband Blaise and his photography. If you enjoy them, please leave a comment and let him know. If not, don’t worry, he has a house full of his biggest fans.
ANN IN REAL LIFE 
