Summer was coming to an end when these high school sweethearts had their photo shoot with Oklahoma-based Wendy Bobarikin. They decided to celebrate the last few days of warm weather by going for a dip in nearby Keystone Lake since, as Bobarikin says, “that’s where us Okies spend most of the time in the summer.”

Bobarikin chose not to offer much direction for this shoot, other than telling the young subjects to get in the water and get their hair wet. As they dipped their heads back, they joined hands, locked eyes and Bobarikin pressed the shutter. “The look they are giving each other is like, ‘Okay, on three,'” she says. The original frame was wider, but in post she cropped the photo to hone in on the connection between the couple and emphasize a narrative: “I knew this crop would focus on the hands.”

(Captured using a Nikon D750 with a Sigma 35mm f/1.4 ART lens.)

Photo © Wendy Bobarikin

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