I had the privilege on a recent Sunday to photograph Jennifer Miskewicz Wilson, her husband Alan, and their baby son Michael.
You may recognize Jennifer from her days as a senior news reporter for local NBC affiliate WIS-TV. She left recently to join Lexington Medical Center as its public relations manager. Coincidentally, another favorite client, Rep. Nikki Haley, also just joined the Lexington Medical Center team, serving as assistant executive director of the Lexington Medical Center Foundation. More importantly, Jennifer’s a fellow Mizzou grad (Go Tigers!), having graduated from the best journalism school in the world (we’re journalists, you can trust us on this!): University of Missouri’s School of Journalism. If you don’t believe us, just ask the real senior WIS-TV reporter Jack Kuenzie.
While a few years separated us at our alma mater, we had met and gotten to know each other covering various assignments in our roles as local journalists. I remember the first time she told me about a guy she was dating who was serving overseas, and with whom she was clearly enamored. That guy turned out to be the man she would marry.
Alan, son of U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson, was then serving as an Army National Guard intelligence officer in Iraq. When he returned and they married, I was fortunate enough to be their wedding photographer and document their day. It’s still one of my most favorite weddings I’ve photographed and can be seen under galleries at my website.
So, having witnessed the beginning of their life together, I felt especially blessed to photograph them and their son Michael as they enter this new stage of life.
We gathered at the West Columbia Riverwalk, part of the Three Rivers Greenway project, where the beauty of the natural surroundings offered a variety of eye-catching backdrops.
Jennifer and Alan both have a keen photographic presence and do so well in front of the camera, but let me tell you, baby Michael stole the show. That kid is the cutest thing around! He was so happy and content the entire time, not a peep out of him, probably because he was so mesmerized by the river. We finally had to move from our original location right next to the water because he was so fascinated with it, he couldn’t take his eyes off of it long enough to pose with the family.
That turned out to be good for Nate the dog’s sake, who had been tethered to a tree during the first part of the shoot, but made it to the family picture by virtue of our seeking higher ground. Not only did the change of venue please Nate, Jennifer was more than happy to climb the side of the hill after teetering on unsteady rocks and nearly losing a shoe to the river.
We found a beautiful background next to the Gervais Street bridge, then just waited for arbitrary passers-by to catch Michael’s eye so he’d look up and smile. We had some wonderfully willing strangers resort to making faces to get his smile to last long enough for a few pictures.
What I really needed was a Jennifer clone behind me to keep him smiling, because that boy adores his mom. When we placed him on a blanket for a few quick shots sitting by himself, he smiled and laughed and giggled non-stop. There were so many great images, it was hard to choose, but this is a favorite of mine:
Photographs by Renee Ittner McManus/RIM Photography.
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