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Jennifer wanted some portraits to document her graduation from college at The University of North Alabama. Now since this was back in November of 2010 Jennifer is certainly already working as a nurse and has probably been promoted a couple of times. Yep…this post isn’t exactly timely. So as you look at these photos let’s all just pretend that it’s not 112˚ outside.
Happy belated graduation Jennifer. :)
I’m finishing up editing a wedding today. I absolutely need to finish it today. But I was constantly being distracted by the photos below. I finally had to stop and go dig through my archives to find them so I could post this blog.
Saturday this earth lost one of it’s best. Our preacher and friend Mike Nix passed away suddenly. This loss has been devastating. Mike was an amazing man. I cant count the times that Anna and I have said to each other….”I don’t understand how a family can be that nice 100% of the time.” But they were and they are. There wasn’t anything phony about Mike. He loved you in such a sincere way that when he told you (and he did often) you believed it. It’s fairly convicting because you realize the way a Christian should act simply by referring to the way Mike acted. There is zero exaggeration in my words.
One of reasons this loss is so devastating is that everyone was one of Mike’s best friends. At least that is the way he treated you. It’s been said many times since Saturday but everyone truly has at least one Mike story. Here is one of the many that Anna and I share.
Anna graduated from The University of Alabama in May of 2004. Anna was the only college student at our large church who was graduating in Coleman Coliseum that day. I had left something in my car and had to run many blocks to retrieve it to make sure I got back inside before the ceremony began. When I re-entered the coliseum the outside concourses were mostly empty except for one man. Mike Nix had driven over 2 hours on a Monday to watch Anna graduate. Had we not run into each other he would have simply sat by himself and watched the long ceremony as he would have had no way of finding the rest of the family. It’s a simple story and it pales in comparison to many other stories I know and have heard told about Mike but it means quite a bit to us.
The “something” that I had left in my car that day was my camera. There were many reasons I could have failed to bring my camera in with me…but I have no idea why I didn’t initially. I do remember feeling like I really needed to have it. I knew that if I didn’t then I would surely regret not capturing the behind the scenes moments of this special day for Anna. Today as tears flow all over the world for this great man…including from behind this keyboard….I wonder if there was another reason I ran all that way back in ’04.
We love you Mike and will miss you terribly. Please pray for Mike’s wife Mary Lyn and his daughter Natalie as they cope with this tremendous loss.
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Great story David- thanks for sharing (and as always, terrific photography, too)!! I miss Mike!!!June 27, 2011 – 3:32 PM
Thank you for sharing this and God Bless those whose lives were touched by Mike Nix. I know several who go to his church and I know it must be a great loss.June 27, 2011 – 3:41 PM
When I heard about Mike’s death at my daughter’s wedding which he so wanted to be at, I said to myself, I have lost my best friend and began my grief journey. So many of us lost our best friend – Mike Nix. We all lost this precious, precious man whom we all love.
He showed us the face of Jesus. When you looked in to the eyes of Mike you saw what Jesus wanted us to be, just as he so wanted to be. Mike was almost childlike. Innocent. Sweet. Faithful, Hopeful, Loving. Caring. Encourager, Disciplined. Studious. Improving every day. A Servant of God. A Man after God’s own heart.
Mike was more than a friend and I loved him more then I love my own brother. I never failed to tell him I loved him and he never failed to tell me he loved me and grabbed me up and bear hugged me like nothing else.
He knew me, and I was so utterly comfortable being around him and being myself, laughing and joking with him. He knew my problems and he never mentioned them to me but spoke so many encouraging words to me and from the pulpit. Mike was such an encourager and comforter. On every occasion that I tried to sneak out after services and go around him because I knew he was talking to others, he used his Sheppard’s hook of an arm and wrestled me in close to him, not allowing me to pass by unnoticed. He was like a magnet, a light unto the world. You just couldn’t get by him and his love.
To hear all the words of all of you about what he meant to you only shows that he did for so many, what he did for me and my family and for all of you! He did not care if you were a member of any church, your race or nationality or your background, he cared about you and getting you to heaven.
He left a perfect example of what we should all strive to be. He wanted us ALL to be in heaven! So I promise and resolve to “BE LIKE MIKE”.
And Mike was always pointing to Jesus our savior, boasting of him and showing us the way to heaven.
May we all resolve to have the same goals, pick up the bible and study the word of God and set about doing the good work of God, spreading the message and being a servant of God. May you find comfort in the good word the “Gospel” of God – life’s instruction book – and such a powerful message. May you all find the “abundant life” and peace and love that surpasses all understanding as the result of your walk with the Lord.
If you have no church home and family, we would welcome you with open arms at Beltline and you will see that God is working through us, his children. If you ever asked God to show himself to you in some tangible manner as I have, then surround yourself with people who are Christians. Knock and the door will be opened to you!
Mike, “Until we meet again on the road less traveled” – I will forever hold you close to my heart in my journey. I thank God for your life here on earth. I have never met a man like you and I doubt that I ever will…
Through tears I say – I love you Mike! And I can hear you saying – I love you too David…June 30, 2011 – 4:07 PM
Ceremony – Westminster Presbyterian Church
Reception – Sykes Place
Catering – The Casual Gourmet
Cake – Charlotte Lowery
Reception DJ – Music by Mike
As June 1st ushers in day after day of 90˚+ temperatures it’s nice to look back at cooler, less sticky times. Less sticky times? A better writer might go back and try and find a different way to put that but I’m going to stick with it.
When Bess and Derek first told me their plans to get married the Saturday after Thanksgiving I initially wondered if that was a good idea. Then I realized (as they already knew) that it was an almost perfect day for it. The Iron Bowl, the annual football game between Alabama and Auburn, was being played the day before and friends and family from out of town would probably be back in town for the holiday anyway. It was a great idea.
I got word a day or two previous that Bess was extremely sick….like “I’m probably going to need medicine through an IV” sick. But there is something about one’s wedding day that will help motivate the immune system. That and a nice selection of prescription meds had Bess almost back to normal as she walked towards the spot where she and Derek would see each other for the first time at Rhodes Ferry Park. To my knowledge Derek wasn’t on anything. :)
Photo below by Gary Cosby Jr.
Photo below by Gary Cosby Jr.
Bess takes a moment just before she and her dad walked towards the aisle.
Photo below by Gary Cosby Jr.
The celebratory high five has become very popular on the way back up the aisle. My prediction for 2012…the groom on guest chest bump.
Bess and Derek attempt to stop traffic on Bank Street.
Photo below by Gary Cosby Jr.
Congratulations to you both!
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Back in 2001 while still working as a photographer at The Decatur Daily I shot a swim meet photo at one of our local pools. The place is called The Aquadome. I’m pretty sure that was the name of a Kevin Costner movie too. Anyway I always liked the photo and wanted to try and recreate it only with a little better…more deliberate lighting.
Here is the original photo from 2001.
The folks at The Aquadome were very accommodating . The local swim coach offered up a couple of students for me to photograph but by the time I got inside and set up all of the daylight was gone. Instead of just packing up and leaving I tried to make the best of the situation.
It’s not a terrible photo but it’s certainly not what I had envisioned.
I have a feeling that shooting an image I’m happy with from inside that facility is
something that’s going to eat at me until I get it done.
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by David Higginbotham
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