I have borne witness to some amazing things in my life. I watched my Grandmother fight and survive cancer. I watched my little sister open her eyes for the first time. I watched my future husband as he opened a box with a ring in it and asked me to marry him, all of these without the camera.
With the camera, I have watched mothers wipe tears away from their eyes. I have watched fathers hug their daughters so tightly before giving them away. I have watched grooms hold back tears reading his vows. I have tried, with every fiber of me, to capture people for who they are. I have tried to do justice to the people who allow me to do what I love to do.
I keep a picture of my father's mother on my desk. It's my favorite picture of her. She's young, about my age. She's got a smile a mile wide and her spirit is effervescent. She died when I was young, my first real brush with loss and grief. I keep this picture on my desk to remind me that, one day, a grieving grandchild may hold the photograph I took in their hands.
