A thousand words for military families

(NECN: Ally Donnelly, Plymouth, Mass.) – Marcia and Kelly Wallace prepared for their close up at Plimouth Plantation on this crisp fall Friday. Marcia, 33, and three-year-old Kelly are a military family minus one these days. Aaron Wallace, 35, is a reservist with the Coast Guard, deployed since June to Kuwait, shuttling Marines in and out of Iraq. Shooting their portrait is Al Solomon, 82, a volunteer photographer at Plimouth Plantation. He is a Coast Guard man himself, a veteran of WWII. “That means feeling sympathetic for the people, understanding what they might be going through,” Soloman said. “If I can do a little something to help make it easier for them.” What Solomon calls a little something is a lot to Wallace. He is taking portraits of the families of active military members — for free this month. With a baby on the way and Kelly growing like a weed, Wallace’s husband misses many a milestone. “Birthday, sleeping in her big girl bed all by herself,” Marcia noted. “She’s daddy’s girl, so he misses her something fierce With advances in technology — cell phones, email, Skype — Marcia and Kelly can often have dinner with Dad — the laptop sitting right on the dinner table. But still, there is something about a photograph. The shoot had some rough moments, but a little chocolate bribery — err, incentive — smoothed things over. For more information on Al Solomon, send an e-mail to PhotoGramp@comcast.net.