Ridout Photography » Blogging From The Edge

I believe it was November 19th 2003 when I first photographed Kara and Dave in beautiful Punta Cana Dominican Republic. Chantal and I had a great time shooting the wedding. I remember a group of us had rented some ATV’s and were being taken on a guided tour of the island. Everyone was behaving quite nicely. Kara’s Dad had his suede dress shoes on, a number of the other riders were dressed up for Sunday School. I’m not sure why but Chantal and I had the fastest machine on the island. As we puttered along the back roads I decided to make my way to the rear of the procession. Hours earlier the island witnessed one of many short rainfalls that would come and go throughout the week. Directly ahead of the group was a series of the most beautiful mud puddles scattered randomly on the weathered road. I lined up my sites, told Chantal to hold on, and gunned it. Not knowing how deep this mud hole was I hit it doing approximately 35 mph. The wave of warm brown water covered Kara’s Dad and his new suede shoes. There was a silence for a short moment and then boisterous laughter. The rest is history as they say. Every puddle on our tour was “game on” . We stopped on the return trip back to the resort and took a photograph that I have included in the collage below.

Jump ahead approximately four and a half years later and Kara and Dave or doing just fine. Chantal and I visited their new home and spent a couple of hours photographing the family. It is so cool to be apart of Kara and Dave’s journey. Their oldest daughter Laci reminds me of a porcelain doll with piercing blue eyes. I really believe it’s a great testament to the friendships made through previous working relationships. All the best!