I was eating Canadian Thanksgiving with a big family in Point Roberts and started asking what everyone's plans were for the week. I wanted to put some feelers out on what I could photograph. One woman—a nurse—
mentioned that she was going to the 90th birthday party of a lady she helped out named Mary. Whistles started going off in my head, and the next day I was at Mary's house. Only three or four of us were there to celebrate, but we had a great time. I loved taking her picture because it made her feel special and, to me, that always means more than the best photograph.
After that I made sure to pencil into my shooting schedule "Tea with Mary." She was just a colorful individual, rich with stories, and I felt enlightened after visiting her.
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I wanted to photograph Point Roberts from a helicopter, but the pilot I had planned on using was out of town. So I tracked down another guy. He was 80-something years old and didn't have a license, but he did have his own helicopter and agreed to fly me.
He took me up on a really windy day, but we didn't stay out long because the wind was picking up and it was getting too dark for him to see. As we made our descent, I started to get a little freaked-out. When I had gotten into his helicopter I noticed that the landing pad was in a small area surrounded by very tall palm trees near a cliff. But it wasn't until I saw it from above that I realized how little room there was for error during landing. He even called it the "tricky part." We swerved around, and I figured it was just a matter of time before we smacked right into a tree and died. Well, we landed alive, and he asked me if I was worried. I lied and said "No." His reply? "I was."
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I found a wedding where the bride and groom were going to cross into Canada to catch a flight for their honeymoon. So I met them at their wedding, took some pictures, and then got into their stretch limo with them. It was a little awkward. They were making out and just enjoying their day as I tried to stay in the background. But it was OK because for hours I'd been anticipating what a great picture I was going to get when Canadian immigration stopped them, like they do every vehicle, at the border. I had everything planned out, but it must not have been my day. When immigration officers saw that it was a bride and groom, they flagged them right through. It was the only time I'd seen them do that the entire time I was in Point Roberts. As we flew by all I could think was "No! No! No!" No matter how much you anticipate the most amazing moment, it can disappear just like that.
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