- Photographer: Justin Kingery
- Camera: Leica M5 [our review can be seen here]
- Lens: Leitz Summicron DR 50mm F/2
- Film: Ilford FP4+
- Location: Phelps Grove Park in Springfield, Missouri (USA)
Our little boy is 16 months old and constantly on the move. He loves the outdoors, and we visit our city parks nearly every day to let him explore, stimulate his mind, and practice using his body. He came to us unexpectedly six weeks early in the scariest months of the COVID-19 pandemic. We worried about him so much then, and still do.
At the park he runs and climbs and tests out the new legs, which are a little wobbly from time to time. But with each passing day, they get stronger and allow him to play and investigate the desires of his new body. In this moment, his mother shows him a brand new ability, one he’s likely never considered before: to leave the earth, to lift, to propel one’s self up and away from solid ground and into all that’s above. Though you can only see his expression from the side, you can tell he’s in awe. She moves with the grace of a dancer, a ballerina, coloring this new experience with beauty and grace.
If you’re so lucky, one of the best parts of co-parenting is witnessing your partner become so important to someone else, that special person bound to you both through miraculous nature and unfathomable luck. It takes work to be a great parent, to be present and attentive and without a phone in hand, but we’re really trying and giving it our best. And I think that’s something to be proud of.
Many thanks to Justin for their contribution to Single Shot Stories!
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