I’ve had the pleasure of photographing the Sharp family for eight years now. I was there for their first moments with both of their sons and have had the honour of photographing them as a family each time they have visited Korea since. This time around we decided to do something a little different.
With both of the boys’ post-custody sessions, we’d opted for traditional Korean locations and we’d done an urban location for the last session we had together. Kala had been searching the internet trying to find somewhere that the boys might like to explore and that would also make a great location for the photos. She reached out and asked what I thought of the Anyang Art Park. When I first lived and worked in Korea, I actually lived about 30 minutes walk from the park and used to frequent it whenever the weather was good, but it had been almost 12 years since my last visit. But from what I remembered, it was a great spot. I schedule in a visit to scout the park (things in Korea change so often that it always pays to go and check).
We chose a weekday during the family’s visit as locations like this tend to be flooded with people on the weekends. As I’d guessed, there we were alone in the park for almost our whole session and could be as boisterous as we needed to keep two boys entertained for the duration of our photography. In the end, we had a great session in with some lovely May light and the vibrant fresh greens of the post-winter forest. Once we were done, it was time to refuel the boys so we sat down for a meal together.
Catching up with the Sharps and seeing the boys grow is one of the highlights of my year when they visit. Jae’s adoption was the very first I ever worked on and his story holds a special place in my heart. He has become a thoughtful and funny young man who brightens the lives of all those around him. His bond with his brother is one we could all learn a little from. Their love and respect for each other shines through even in the short moments we get to spend together. Thanks again to Kala and Gary for getting in touch. Can’t wait to see you guys again on your next visit!
For more information and to enquire about your own session in Seoul or even Anyang, please reach out here. Also, stop by my Facebook and Instagram for more family photography.
