Amy Sandoval Photography Blog

I love living in Southern Virginia Beach. I relish long drives through the winding roads of Pungo, Creeds and Blackwater. And I love that there is a tiny cotton field just at the entrance of my neighborhood. The Virginian-Pilot actually did a story on the field a couple of years ago, noting how rare it is to see cotton growing in Virginia Beach. Suffolk, sure, Eastern Shore, of course, but here in Virginia Beach it’s a rarity.

We’ve lived in this neighborhood for over five years and each year I say I’m going to photograph that field. I’m always looking for new spots to photograph Olivia, our daughter. And now that she’s getting older, she looks forward to the new locations and adventures, too. This weekend seemed like the right time. So Olivia and I prepared. For her this means picking the right clothes. For me it’s loading the lenses in a bag. And putting on flip flops. Which may or may not have been a good idea, but if you know me, you know I prefer to do everything in my flip flops! To get to the field we had to park in a church parking lot, walk through some pretty muddy woods and finally, hurdle a ditch full of rotting leaves and muddy water. And once we got to the other side, it was totally worth it!

The sun was starting to set as we began to explore the field. Olivia, who is 7-years-old now, kept saying, “It really is cotton, you could make clothes with this!” While we were taking photos, one of the largest deer I’ve seen in real life appeared in the field a ways down from us. I have to admit, flashes of “angry deer attacks” did go through my head as he stared at us unflinchingly. But just a minute or so later, another smaller deer leaped over the ditch, and we watched in amazement as another five or six deer joined “Big Papa” for their evening meal. He meant no harm; he was just making sure it was safe for his “ladies” to join him.

We’re already talking about going back again to stay longer. It was an adventure for the two of us – and worth every muddy, scratchy step! I’m also looking forward to getting an enlargement of the last photo made and giving it to the people who own the farmland. Just feels like they should have a copy!