Mentor Mania

Alexey Sergeyev – Dillon

Alex is my next door neighbor. He was adopted from Russia in 2002. He is now just recently 17 years of age. Alex says my purpose in his life is to keep him out of trouble – but seriously(he laughs) – to show him how people can be great friends, loving and caring about each other, to teach him things that other people can’t teach him, to take him places where he would probably not get a chance to go in his life, to meet people he would probably not get the chance to meet. To teach him things that other people couldn’t – and how to enjoy life.  

I was on a trip to Lake Tahoe to photograph Joshua Yanity’s wedding. Alex was in Chico with his grandparents and met me in Sacramento when I arrived. After a quick stop at the iHop, we were off to Lake Tahoe. About half way up Highway 50 we were in the forest with a pristine mountain stream to our side. To start our trip off right, we hiked down the roadside and hopped into the river. For ten days, Alex and I swam in the lake, hiked, went to a rehearsal dinner, shot a wedding, drove to Mendocino – had a great wine dinner, went to a photography workshop, hiked on the coast, and had dinner with Washek – my great mathematician friend from Czechoslovakia. Alex wins.