Imagery for Wilmot Cancer Center

While the weather forecast for this mid-June day called for drizzle with skies clearing by late morning, the hard rain that was falling as we drove to Canandaigua suggested otherwise.  Sara Klem and I were in the Tundra and hauling gear to a location on the East side of Canandaigua Lake, where we would meet up with art-director, Josh Egerton, of Antithesis Advertising.  Today, we would be doing photography for part of a Wilmot Cancer Center campaign for University of Rochester Medical Center.Our subjects, Leo and Judy Murphy greeted us warmly at their front door and welcomed us inside, out of the wet drizzle.  We talked for a while and got to know each other while Judy, so very graciously, fixed us up with some hot coffees.  Josh and I talked over some ideas for the shot, and when the rain let up, we headed out to the backyard with the camera to scout and do some test shots that we could show to our client, Jodie when she arrived.The imagery we would be creating today would help convey the message of a wonderful success story.  Leo Murphy is a cancer survivor of five years.  With the help of the medical team at Wilmot Cancer Center, he's thankfully been able to enjoy a rich and active life with his wife, Judy, their family and especially their grandchildren.  It was these things that Josh and I would be thinking of while we worked today, particularly capturing expressions of strength, health, happiness and gratitude.Out on the dock, with the lake at our backs, Josh and I composed some test shots with Sara, trying some different perspectives with the house in the background, and trying to show enough dock and water to give a better sense of  a lake-home environment.  There was still a light drizzle in the air, and we continued to debate whether today was the best day to shoot.  We could always give it another try tomorrow when the sun was out.  We pressed on.In the house, Sara popped the images up on the laptop for us, and we reviewed them all with Jodie.  Josh and I talked about image composition, and how that would mesh with his layout of the final ad.  During our discussion, the sky had lightened up a little, and after wardrobe choices were made, we went back outside with Judy and Leo for some more tests.  There was still some moisture falling, so for now, the two wore raincoats.  We kept our fingers crossed for the weather to improve.  Eventually, it did, at least enough for us to continue our shoot!Leo and Judy had been a dream to work with, and there were a great bunch of image options for Jodie and Josh to choose from.  I think that Leo had shown great patience with me and my "just another half-dozen shots" requests, and I was thankful for that.  Very, very sweet people.The image shown at the top of this post represents the full-page advertisement that ran in Rochester Business Journal. Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark 2