Herman Hintiryan- Sailing to "60"

No one has ever thrown a surprise party for me before...let alone, thrown one for me on a yacht.  Therefore, you must have already have guessed that the guest of honor to receive such a greeting must be one special individual. The guest of honor for this specific celebration happened to be Mr. Herman Hintiryan who turned 60 years young this week. Herman was happily surprised Sunday afternoon to find over 100 of his closest friends and relatives waiting for him on the deck of the Infinity Yacht Charter. As he stepped out of his vehicle, I got my camera ready...I wondered what his reaction would be, as I had never met him.

I have known Herman's son, Zaven, and daughter, Araxie, for quite some time now. I was very excited when Zaven got ahold of me and asked me to photograph this special event. Araxie and Zaven are two of the most pleasant, genuine, kind individuals that you will ever meet. They have both been blessed with an amazing sense of humor. Within minutes of talking to these siblings you will realize that they are the best of friends, and you will most likely be laughing.  I figured that their keen sense of humor came from somewhere; I had never met their parents and was excited to see what their family was like.  I was very excited to meet Herman, but nervous at the same time. I wondered how he would handle the surprise...would he be happy?  Emotional? Even worse, would he be angry? (Sometimes these things do backfire.) I felt like it took forever for him to get out of the car. Finally, he got out of his vehicle, walked to the dock, and within seconds realized what was going on. He was being honored with a surprise party! Relatives had come from near and far to celebrate with Herman.  He looked up, took it all in, and looked very touched as he gazed on at his loved ones on the boat. Months of planning paid off in the best way...a job well done.  Family and friends danced the afternoon away as the Yacht cruised down to Detroit. I thought my family knew how to throw a good party until I met Zaven and Araxie's. I definitely had plenty of material to photograph. As we know, all good things must come to an end, and we hugged and parted ways. The question is...how are you guys going to top this next year???  Just kidding. =)  Happy Birthday, Herman!!!!!!!

                                                                    Surprise!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!