Lingle, Wyoming Family Photographer: Staci W. and family

You’ve heard of the concept of six degrees of separation, right?  Where every person on earth is connected to everyone else by no more than six people?

In Wyoming, I really believe that number shrinks to 1.  You could probably connect yourself to just about anyone else in this state through one person.  It’s one of my favorite parts about Wyoming, that interconnectedness and the sense that it’s a bit us against the world.

Last fall, I spent a smoky Saturday evening with Staci and her family at their home near Lingle for a family photo session.  The forest fires burning in the Laramie Range was giving everything that orange, hazy glow and I wondered if we’d even be able to see one another.  But the winds shifted and we had clear-ish skies.

I met Staci in college once upon a time but now we are 4-H moms together, enjoying watching our kids learn the pledge, taking baby steps in public speaking and grow their work ethic.

This beautiful family was so much fun.  They jumped in with both feet, up for whatever my crazy photographer brain could come up with.  “Now sit on the grass and wrap your arms around each other.  Now lay down and look up at me! Now…”

But this guy right here had the best idea of the evening.  A word of advice…when a boy asks you to take a photo of him in front of his cows, you always say yes!  The cows were lukewarm on the idea initially, but eventually, their curiosity won out and they came wandering back toward us for a closer inspection.  And her eyes…they were captivating and set off perfectly with her blue shirt.  Both these kids were so lovely and kind and funny it felt like I’d known them for years!

I love watching the small moments between families.  Those quick looks when they remember a family joke or the moment when the love they feel for one another hits them and their smiles get a little bigger and their eyes a little softer.  This hard-working Wyoming family had lots of those moments and the love and genuine fondness for one another was beautiful to see.

As I was visiting with Staci’s husband, Tate, he mentioned where he grew up.  I inquired if he knew my college best friend, who also grew up there.  Indeed, my dear friend’s mom had been his teacher in elementary school.

One degree of separation.

Our world feels very big.  We feel disconnected from people on the other side of the county, the people in town,  the people in other parts of the state or in other parts of the country.  It becomes a We vs. Them mentality.  But we really aren’t that far apart.

In August of 2008, Microsoft actually proved that the number is 6.6.  You are six introductions away from knowing everyone else on this planet.  From knowing me, the Governor of Wyoming, the mayor of New York City, Lady Gaga, Kevin Bacon or Channing Tatum (swoon).  And as we connect through social media and other electronic forms, that number is shrinking.

It’s kind of humbling.

My encounter with this amazing family proves that we really aren’t that far apart in Wyoming.  That we likely know someone who knows someone.  It’s a slightly longer chain in the rest of the world but still.  Interconnectedness.

If we can keep those connections in mind, it makes it easier to build a bigger community instead of sequestering ourselves off in isolation.  We can come at issues with the goal of understanding and relating instead of blind stubbornness.

An evening near Lingle, Wyoming, population 463 reminded me both how big and small this world really is.  It’s just one more reason I feel like being a family photographer is the most amazing job on earth.

–Teresa

If you’re interested in having family photos taken or want to see examples of my work, visit my Family Portrait Gallery!