Nathaniel Drees| Kingsland High School Senior Portraits

With his family’s permission, I wanted to share a few photos of Nathaniel.

On Friday, Audra and I had the privilege of taking Nathaniel’s senior pictures. His mom was there watching him smile and “enjoy” having his pictures taken, as much as most high school senior boys enjoy having their photos taken, and he was mostly doing it for her.

We started at the studio, made our way around downtown Spring Valley, stopped at the Kingsland football field, and finished at the Grand Meadow track and field with the very last bits of light. We worked around the rain and were able to capture not only his senior pictures, but some of the places and things that were part of Nathaniel’s life and that he loved.

The very next day, Nathaniel was in an accident, and on Sunday, he passed away.

There really are no words. I am just so grateful that we went ahead with his session that Friday and that his mom had that time with him, watching him smile, laughing, going from place to place together, and making memories that none of us could have known would become so incredibly precious.

It means more than I can express that I was able to be a small part of Nathaniel’s life and capture these photographs for his family and friends.

These are so much more than senior pictures now. They are pieces of Nathaniel’s life, his smile, his senior year, the places and things he loved, and memories that will forever be held close by the people who loved him.

My heart is with his family, his friends, his classmates, and everyone who loved him.