On Nov. 22, 2019, Izzy Ott invited a group of her close friends to her lake house in Eatonton, GA, for a Friendsgiving celebration. This also doubled as a celebration of her 20th birthday. In this photo story, capturing the candid moments of friendship, love and the warmth of a family of friends is at the core. This came in the form of a wealth of human subjects, close ups and quickly capturing the silliness of a night filled with big laughs and good friends.
With the Thanksgiving holiday quickly approaching, Izzy Ott (right) invited several of her closest friends to a Thanksgiving celebration in her lake house. Here, she and her boyfriend, Luis Dunn (left) prepare the Friendsgiving turkey before their guests arrive.Fresh and no longer frozen, the guest of honor of Ott’s Friendsgiving is ready to be passed around and chowed on by their guests.The Friendsgiving gathering served two purposes for Ott. Not only was it a time of gathering and giving thanks to friends, it was her 20th birthday.Surrounded by some of her closest friends, Ott lights the birthday candles that represent another 365 day trip around the sun.With the aide of her boyfriend, Luis Dunn, Ott blows out the candles of her cake. As she does, the friends surrounding her sing her a happy birthday tune to ring her next year.Once the friendly festivities had wrapped, it was time to clean up. However, it wouldn’t be a Friendsgiving attended by photographers without an artsy portrait.After the cake is cut, the silliness truly begins. Dunn tries on a jacket that proves to be two sizes too small for him and decides to savor the moment by calling for an impromptu modeling session.Samantha Carvallo (right) and her boyfriend Garrett Stafford (left) have an animated conversation that required the use of audible hand gestures.Alyssa Gibson stares at the group of gathered friends with love and affection as the night of celebrations continues on.“I’ve never had a Friendsgiving before because my friends never believed in it and this was honestly the best night ever,” Ott said. “I can’t thank my friends enough for bringing me into their ‘family’ with open arms.”
Piedmont Photojournalists 