To many, he’s Rev. Dr. Edward R. Treat, senior pastor of Transfiguration Lutheran Church in Bloomington. To John Haug and his family, he’s just Ed, the guy who happens to be their pastor, father of their daughter’s boyfriend and… knee-boarder extraordinaire? You bet.
The story behind this photo began when the Treat and Haug families got together for an evening on the water—and it was Ed Treat’s birthday. After hours of watching the kids kneeboard, Haug asked Treat if he’d like to try. Everyone was surprised when Treat, who hadn’t water-skied in more than 30 years, said, “Why not?”
Treat literally waxes poetic when describing his thought process at the moment, reciting from Dylan Thomas’ famous poem, “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night.” He says, “If I didn’t do it… I would be surrendering to old age.” So Treat said “hit it” and up he went. A successful run full of Lake Minnetonka beauty, big smiles and no wipeouts made it a birthday for the books.
Haug, who took the photo, describes the feeling behind the shot. “The question in my mind was simply whether or not the camera would do justice to what we were experiencing.” We think he did a fine job; Treat says he was thinking, “Life is good,” and Haug captured a grand portrait.
To see more of Haug’s photography, visit johnhaugphotography.smugmug.com.
This image won readers’ choice acclaim in the 2014 Lens on Lake Minnetonka Photo Contest. This year’s entries will be accepted August 1–31, with readers’ choice voting September 10–30, all online at lakeminnetonkamag.com.
