A look of incredulity developed in an instant as he snapped his face towards his mom sitting at his side:

"Mom, this is a FREIGHT train, not for passengers."

Of course. Ryan was just implying by his tone how crazy it was to ask how many passengers a freight train carried. This seems an obvious point, but when it's coming from a kid, barely thigh high and just a shade over 3 years old, and followed with a fairly extensive explanation of the functional differences between freight and passenger engines, it was a little startling. This short dissertation seemed come from someone much older and taller, just on a good amount of helium. It was adorable and life affirming.

Kids this precocious, so obviously intelligent and charming don't just fall out of wombs; to track the language abilities and social intelligence to be a worthwhile conversation and also have the wherewithal to engage grown adults (we were at a mutual friend's party, so he was wondering why April and I were there) grow out of solid parenting. This was obvious from meeting Ryan's parents, Roxann and Marius, who we found to be just solid, friendly people who are doing their best to put some excellent people into the world.

Roxann and Marius are going to welcome another member of the family in just a few weeks, so we were asked to help them document these times just before their family gets a little bigger. Ryan was fully cooperative, which was impressive because even the adults might have been getting slightly cranky over the few hours on the shoot. We started in the Kelley Park/Zoo complex in San Jose, CA on a 80F day; nice weather, but the 11AM sun almost directly overhead was brutal, and the strobes needed to come out. This type of shoot necessitates a good deal of gear, and the family was all for helping schlepping around the stands, lights, and bags. Totally great sports, couldn't ask for more.

Roxann, Ryan and Marius were also an absolute pleasure to photograph, taking very little direction to get to really natural, beautiful interactions between them. I have to assume a lot of that stems from a real love between all of them, and it really comes through the lens. The little guy, Ryan, especially couldn't take a bad photo; dude just rules, and made no fuss about the sweaty dude flashing lights in his face. Just another day at work, it seemed.

When we changed venues to their home, Roxann let us know that the wanted to do a couple of silouhettes; like a dolt, I completely forgot my roll of white seamless (though I brought all the grip gear for the backdrops, good move!) so that was about to be nixed. Fortunately, Marius volunteered a white projection screen that was even better than the semi-small roll of paper I usually use -- totally clutch move. The result was really beautiful, and we were able to get a few more than what we planned.

It was great shoot with a bunch of great people; the new baby has a lot to look forward to, top to bottom. Roxann and Marius have a great thing going with our buddy Ryan, and we're certain they will continue the streak.