Connor, Park High School 2020 Senior Portraits // Cottage Grove, MN Photographer

I can truly say that it is not every day that senior photos involves a gun. A gun? Yes, a gun. Don’t worry, we didn’t get held up – praise the Lord! Park High School senior, Connor, is on their trap team. The gun wasn’t the only thing that came along with Connor for his senior portraits at Vermillion Falls. Connor’s mom and grandma also joined in the fun; and it definitely was fun as they teased him many times throughout the session, keeping it light-hearted and relaxing!

Connor mentioned that the last time he had been at Vermillion Falls was with his friends and something involving needing to get back to the car, and it was dark so he was running the path in the pitch black and may have mentioned that it spooked him (which in Connor’s defense, I can’t imagine being out there alone at night especially with those cliffs down to the river!)

We had so much fun just chatting and sharing stories – in fact, after hearing about Connor’s dad hunting, I shared the story about how my grandpa came to Jesus while duck hunting. It’s one of my favorite stories, especially now that he is with the Lord. My dad says that when he was a little boy, he and his brothers all went to church with his mom and that he remembers often asking his dad to go with them, but his excuse often was that Sunday was the only day he could go fishing or hunting. So one Sunday, my dad asked my grandpa to come, and it was the same answer. My dad went to church, and my grandpa went duck hunting.

Now, one thing I haven’t mentioned is that my grandpa apparently couldn’t swim, which is shocking if you knew him because he was always on the water in his boat. All this to say, he went duck hunting that Sunday on Lake Michigan. He got into the boat, out in the water, all alone, and started to throw out his duck decoy lines. (I apologize to any duck hunter who is reading this thinking I’ve got my wording all wrong but I’ve never gone and I’m just sharing from what I’ve heard all these years :P) He threw out his lines, and as he was getting up a big storm rolled in, and somehow in the process of prepping for hunting and being on the choppy waves, he fell out of the boat. 

Now I already mentioned that he can’t swim. I didn’t mention that he also had his waders on, and while I may not be a regular hunter/fisherwoman I do know that is not a good thing because they fill up with water, making it all the harder to swim. My grandpa was sinking down to the bottom, unable to pull himself out of the waders to the surface, and he prayed, “Lord, if you’re really there and save me from this, I’ll dedicate my life to you.” Seconds later, he realized somehow he had a flashlight  on him, turned it on, and was able to brighten up the choppy murky water he was surrounded by, and he saw a line – his duck line. He reached up and grabbed the rope with his strong arms and was, literally by God’s grace, able to pull himself back into the boat.

Connor, I’m so excited for you finishing up your final year of high school! You have so much ahead of you, but also slow down to enjoy this stage right now. While senior slide may be a real thing, I promise that one day you’ll look back and be amazed how quickly this time went by. Have an awesome year!

---

Hey! We're Lindsay & Mark!

Lindsay is our main portrait photographer and rocks all the maternity, family, senior, couples, anniversary, and more shoots that you see! Mark tags along for engagements and wedding days.

GET TO KNOW US

---

You Might Also Like

Cameron's Elk River Senior Photos

Erika's Gorgeous Vermillion Fall Senior Photos