Some friendships go back so far, I can't remember when they began. Last fall, I was entrusted with photographing several childhood friends and their families. I found, to my surprise, that photographing these people from my past was actually quite emotional. I've reconnected with these people through Facebook, so I knew something of their lives and loves even though years have past since we've actually seen each other in person. Still, coming face-to-face with a childhood friend you haven't seen in years simultaneously brings back your childhood and punctuates just how many years have passed. Add to that the genuine love, connection, and emotion between the subjects of my photographs and it's a miracle I wasn't a blubbering mess the entire time. 

The takeaway for me is that photography never ceases to amaze me in it's ability to help me find new places within myself, to discover that love and connection and life are more complex and intricate than I ever could have imagined. Only because of my camera do I have this opportunity to enter places old and new, to glimpse the purest expression of the human condition in the extravagant and the everyday. The photographer, truly, is the luckiest one of all. 

Thank you, my friend, for showing the beauty to me. xoxoxo

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summer and family-8 summer and family-8

summer and family-8 summer and family-8

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summer and family-8

summer and family-8