Celeste LeCompte

Last week, I received an envelope in the mail from my father containing a CD titled “Frozen Time.” The disc contained 218 images curated from my dad’s thousands of photos over years — from travels to Europe, scuba diving (more of his diving stuff is here), and just having fun at home in Louisiana. Here are a few of my favorites. Great work, dad!

I love these photos — some because they’re great images, and some because I think they capture something great about my dad. Sharks? Fearless. Pretty girls on Mardi Gras floats? Of course. That funny little crawfish peeking over the dish? Hilarious. My father truly is a photographer. Not professionally, of course, but importantly — the same way you might say someone was “athletic,” and it would mean something about who they are. Because of that, photography has been a big part of our lives all around. Some of my memories include…

Astronomy photos! In addition to a camera, my dad also had a telescope in the backyard, and he took some amazing photos of the moon through it. Many members of my family have beautiful, framed prints in their houses. We also have pictures of a solar eclipse that are pretty incredible.

Photos of mad, crying Celeste. As a child, most of my tantrums and foolish fits were captured on film. I believe that snapping the pictures may have been an effort to discourage these kinds of displays, but I’m not so sure the tactic worked. Dad, when you read this, you’ll have to weigh in.

Darkroom lessons. My dad and I converted the bathtub of the main bathroom in our house to a darkroom, where my dad turned me loose with an enlarger, some darkroom chemicals, an old cigar box of negatives and several rolls of black-and-white film.

Thanks again, dad!