I wished to continue Dad’s photographic art.
Enjoy
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I grew up surrounded by photos. Dad was an award winning photographer who specialized in women’s portraits and nudes. His pictures appeared in several exhibitions and 3 books.
When I turned 12, my father bought me my first camera. I took it with me on class trips and shot scenery sights. Dad checked my photos and said, “Ian, you have a good eye, but let me give you some tips.”
I was too proud to accept his offer and continued shooting on our trips without his guidance. Later, I began taking pictures around the house and at school, shooting other students at play, teachers at class, and girls gossiping during the breaks. Reading some books and googling helped me improve my skills.
When I was 18, I prepared a portfolio of the photos I was most proud of and showed Dad. He went through the album slowly, inspecting each picture. When he was done, he smiled at me and said, “I think you are much better than the average guy your age. However, if you wish to be REALLY good at it, I’d like to give you some tips.”
By then, I was much smarter than at 12, when I refused to listen. His observations and suggestions were: “A. Your scenery photos are the least ‘special.’ In fact, good selfies can match your pictures. B. You probably inherited the eye for shooting humans from me. I recommend that you continue concentrating on people. C. More specifically, you seem to be especially great at capturing women and girls. If you wish to have photography as a serious hobby, I think you should concentrate on the subjects you are good at.”
I thanked Dad and most weekends, I started taking my camera to the nearest park, trying to capture women. I photographed them strolling, running, biking, dancing, doing yoga, and even kissing. I chose from my current photos the ones I thought were the best and showed Dad. Again, he examined them thoroughly and smiled, “Son, you are becoming much better at taking outdoor photos. Your selection of the angles, direction of the sun, taking advantage of clouds in the sky, and the background show great promise. I think it’s time to learn how to shoot indoors, too. I saw some pictures of your female teachers in class, but, with all due respect, these were good to remember their faces and not as artistic photos.”
“Dad, you are famous and have many ladies who would be proud to pose for you. I do not have models.”
“You start by doing what I did in the beginning. Initially, I took pictures of my girlfriends and then of your Mom. In fact, I was so mesmerized by her beauty that after 3 sessions, I asked her for a date and married her 8 months later. I continued to use her as my muse often, even after our wedding.”
“That’s interesting. Except for our family photos on the wall, I saw only 2 pictures of Mom in your books.”
He smiled, “Because many of the photos were with sheer clothes or in the nude. By that time, I was already in love with her, and I found it inappropriate to show her naked in public.”
“So, what did you do with the pictures?”
“They are in a closed box in the attic.”
“Do you think Mom will agree to pose for me?”
Dad laughed, “I think she loves you and will see it as a compliment you find her picture-interesting.”
Three days later, I visited a sick friend and within 24 hours I felt sick too. It deteriorated fast and 2 days later, I was admitted to the hospital with severe pneumonia. Dad and Mom visited me daily and stayed up to 2 hours at a time. After being in the hospital for a week, I was discharged home on antibiotics. On the day I arrived home, Dad started coughing as well. He laughed, “Now it’s my turn to get your bug.” We smiled, but his situation got worse within hours. We rushed him to the hospital and saw the same doctor who treated me.
He said, “Your disease was somewhat contagious, and it could be that your father got it from you. I’ll begin intravenous medications, but remember that his prognosis may be different than yours. You are young, and your immune system is intact. Your father is a chain-smoker and has chronic obstructive lung disease.” Dad struggled for 2 weeks and eventually required a respiratory device. All the medical team’s efforts were not successful, and he died 10 days later.
…
Mom and I were devastated. Dad was only 45!… Luckily, my parents saved enough money, and Dad had good life insurance, so financially, we were OK, but the untimely death was hard on both of us. Knowing that he likely got it from me was a major emotional burden. I vowed to be there for Mom and continue with my photography, feeling I needed to continue his life work and, in case he was watching me from heaven, make him proud of me.
As part of rearranging the house after his death, I went through his drawers and then his stuff in the attic. Most of his memorabilia was inside a large wooden box: His childhood baseball glove, a red fire truck, a poster of Michael Jordan, and multiple prizes, including victory cups and certificates. A smaller box was wrapped in blue paper with a note: Private.
I opened the box and saw inside 2 large envelopes. On the first one, there was a sticker ‘Past.’ I opened it, and it contained 5 smaller envelopes. Each one of these had 15-20 photos with the negatives attached. Every envelope had pictures of the same woman. Three of them were young, I’d say 20-30 years old, and the others of more mature ladies. The developed pictures were beautifully shot. Some were in black and white, and the others in color. All displayed the women in different stages of nudity, with different poses, and different lighting. I loved these!
Inside the other one, there was another note: ‘open only after my death.’ It contained 3 smaller envelopes.
I opened the first one. To my surprise, it had pictures of my aunt, Anna. She was in her 20s. Her photos were amazing, too. Dad displayed her on the bed, leaning on the window, and eating breakfast. In each photo, she was seminude or completely naked. On the back of one of them, there was a dedication, ‘Matt, I kept some photos for myself. I love these photos, too, but I’ll let you have them as a reminder of our escapades before your marriage. Please, keep them in a safe place. Love, Anna.’ Geez. Aunt Anna and Dad were lovers… What a surprise!
The second one was double-taped. I opened it. It contained artistic nude pictures of Grandma Beatrice. At the time, she was probably in her 40s or 50s. Dad did a magnificent job hiding her protruding belly, focusing on her big tits with the dark pink areolas, as well as her shapely legs. I was stunned that she let her son take these explicit photos of her. There was no note explaining the photos, and I wondered if she let Dad take the pictures simply as a model or if they shared intimacy…
I opened the third, somewhat larger envelope, and as expected, I saw Mom’s photos. Most of them were when she was younger. Her beauty was undeniable, and her body – perfect! Except for 2 portrait photos, the rest showed her in sheer lingerie and various stages of nakedness. Her face wasn’t just pretty; the photos concentrated on her expressions, which ranged from calmness to a mysterious smile and from thoughtful to a seductive look. Her body showed large marvelous tits, a narrow waist, and graceful hips.
In that envelope, I also found, in a slightly separated part, a set of 20 more recent photos. Based on her hairstyle, I could determine they were taken in the last 5 years, when she was 35-40 years old. I was taken aback by the last batch. Mom was gorgeous! I’ve seen her multiple times walking in her underwear around the house, and it never occurred to me to think of her other than Mom. But here she looked pretty, with a great figure and was… extremely sexy!