― C.S. Lewis
A little background, Zane and Amara met each other halfway through 2nd grade when they were 7 years old. Something between them just clicked and they’ve been best friends ever since. They are now 12. Amara’s Mom and I marvel at their friendship – they have a similar outlook on life, an innocence, a joy in imagination and play. They’ve always created together, whether it’s crafts, games, imaginary worlds, stories, or dances. As they’ve grown up their games and play have changed some, now it’s more Minecraft, Dungeons and Dragons, and VR games, but every now and then they’ll return to their worlds of pretend.
I had a vision to do a photoshoot with them where I would try to capture some of their playfulness, their love of dressing up and pretending, their child-likeness. I knew that time might be short and they might not always be up for my ideas, but maybe they will!
I wanted to also convey the sense of wonder and magic that I had as child when I would gather items from around the house to give substance to my imaginary worlds. I remember pretending to be a traveling wizard and I took a saw horse out into the garden, put blankets on it to make a saddle, mounted up and travelled through the world of my imagination having adventures. So for this photoshoot there is a mix of authentic props and everyday items that the kids actually use for play, like their cat blankets used as cloaks and shields that Amara made, as well some other everyday items as well as modern clothes.
Without further ado, here’s Prince Zane and Princess Amara.
I love these two and their friendship so much. So thankful that they found each other and that their friendship allowed us to be friends with Amara’s family. Here’s to more adventures, wonder, and joy.
“Since it is so likely that (children) will meet cruel enemies, let them at least have heard of brave knights and heroic courage. Otherwise you are making their destiny not brighter but darker.”
― C.S. Lewis
Lamppostings 