I first met Carol at Patricia and Michael's wedding celebration party last Saturday night. I had taken the photos at their ceremony at the Belle Isle Conservatory in February, but on that day only six persons were present: the bridal couple, two witnesses, the judge and me. Saturday was a time for family and friends to gather and celebrate this dear couple who had met and married in their middle years.

I happened to eat dinner at a table with a number of Patricia's cousins; among them were Carol and her husband John. When we introduced ourselves, she asked, "Are you the Patricia who took their wedding photos"? I said I was. That led to a table-wide discussion of photography and creativity. After most people had moved onto other things, Carol got up from her place and came over to sit in the empty seat beside me. She leaned in close and said softly, "I have stage 4 lung cancer and would like to have my portrait taken for my obituary. Would you be interested in doing that?"

So yesterday we met at the lakefront park near my home for a photo shoot. But before we began I did as I'd read the American portrait photographer Annie Leibovitz always does: I tried to get to know my subject better. If I were going to take her portrait, I wanted it to embody her spirit as well as simply looking like her. Not surprisingly I found Carol to be a wise, deep woman who, though faced with a number of life-threatening illnesses, still manages to retain a light touch with not a whisper of self pity. She was also a most creative model who kept changing position and expression while I took about sixty photos. Do you know what she said she wanted her obituary portrait to show? Her sense of humor!

On the phone before our date, Carol had asked about my fee. I told her I considered it an honor to be taking these photos and didn't really want money for it. She insisted, so I said she could buy me some flowers. But instead of flowers, Carol and her husband John went to our local Barnes & Noble bookstore and bought me the $75 Annie Leibovitz book, "A Photographer's Life: 1990-2005." She knew me better than I knew myself!

May Carol continue to live every moment to the full, bring her humor and kindness to those around her, and be free of pain and suffering.