The Murrays are one of those families that you want to have living on your block.

Though we were never actual neighbours, my kids went to school with their kids, and my daughter counted their daughter among her besties. And whenever I saw them around, they simply brought energy and fun and goodness to the community. In short, the Murrays are good people.

And now, life's winding road has sent them to Alberta to live. They moved last month, and before they did, they asked me to photograph their going away party at City Park, in downtown Kingston.

I said YES!

Now, there are differing opinions among family photographers about photographing a party with dozens of children in a busy park. My opinion is that it is awesome. I'll explain.

The light is all over the place, and it's nearly impossible to keep track of who is attending the party and who is just dropping by the splash pad with their own family. Kids have free run of the entire place, which means photographing with a prime lens (one that doesn't zoom in or out), as I do, is going to result in plenty of running after said kids in order to get them close enough in the shot... And you can never be in more than one place at the same time, which most likely means you're missing something cool happening somewhere where you're not.

Anyway, this might seem like a list of problems, but I view it as a set of thrilling challenges. Things get boring when they are easy, no? They do for me. I give a photo-session bonus marks in my head if I face something new and interesting, a new way of getting over some hurdle. And that is why photographing 30+ children running around City Park was awesome.

I wish the Murrays much happiness and joy in their new life in High River, Alberta. Their new neighbours are sure lucky to have them.

And without further ado, here are the photos: