Aaron Dieppa of The Big Picture interviewed me yesterday for his super cool daily video podcast. After doing my Photo Minute podcast as a weekly for a number of years and now AskDane.com, I’m in awe of this guys commitment.

This is the first of 3 interviews.. check it out!

The Root’s in particular have been close to my heart for a number of reasons.

First, they are one of the pioneer families at our church who sacrificed much for the sake of being part of a movement that is changing the world.

Second, Lauri’s husband Doug died a few years before I joined in at the church and I have been hearing the stories and pictures and lore of a leader bent on making a difference. As many of you know and can relate with, I also grew up without a dad. To witness the ways Lauri (and all the other single mom’s like her) is leading her boys into adulthood is a true gift (yes, this is a total shout out to my own mom… love you!).

Needless to say, when Lauri asked me to shoot their family portraits this year, I was stoked. We decided their home at One Ford Road in Newport Beach would be perfect. They actually live just a few streets over from our good friends Julie and Mike Colón. I think I should feel honored she chose me or maybe she just needs to get to know her neighbors better.

JD and Timmy are such great guys. They are also all male. To be candid, I think they were far more interested in wrestling with each other than in getting their pictures taken. So, I think my stock went up when I told them they could do both.

We all live under the reality of our mortality. Especially in seasons like these where circumstances seem so fragile, can I encourage you to pause for a second and go love on those you love most right now? I hope you’re blessed for it.

Thanks Root family for living life the way you do. You inspire!

- Dane