Join me for a COUNTDOWN of my 50 Top Summer Picsand the story behind each shot
Caryn Esplin - Lollipop Island Best - Island Park, Idaho

#2 -Lollipop Island Memories

07.2.2010   – Island Park, Idaho   – f/5  1/200  Canon Rebel T1i – Canon EF 85mm 1.8mm USM Lens

 

This one ties for #1 because it truly captures one of my favorite family memories. We have a family tradition, started by my niece, Camille, years ago, of exploring an island near my parents’ cabin in Island Park. The legend has it, that a variety of lovely lollipops grown on this charming island, on warm days in August. The troll guards the island, so it is risky to cross the bridge where he lives. However, the reward is often worth it, because we usually find lollipops of all colors and flavors.

We are not sure why, but some days, they do not grow, and if the lollipops are not picked in the morning, they disappear. Some think they shrink back into the soft, moist earth, but I think the troll cleans them up!  We always line up the kids from youngest to oldest and off they go on one of their favorite adventures.

I love this photo because our oldest daughter, Janel, still in pjs, stands on the island so she can photograph her eager boys as they tromp across the troll’s bridge, on their way to pick the sweets on Lollipop Island. I did not edit the image, nor was it planned or posed. I just saw it, and grabbed it. I love how the boys and Janel are all evenly spaced, and that could not have been happened better. It was just one of those easy, candid snaps that captures years of meaningful memories all in one frame.