Story is as much a part of us as our bodies are. Each of us is a unique and varied novel ripe with chapters about where we came from. Who we are. Our dreams and hopes and wishes and fears. Our mundane everydays and our wild and crazy adventures. We have interspersed into our pages heartaches and celebrations, triumph and turmoil. There are things we are proud of and others we most certainly are not. But they are our stories nonetheless, and whether we write them with monotony or fervor, the inkwell of the pen of our life never truly runs dry. The nib will never fray or get worn. We are history. Living. Breathing. Being. We are the torn and creased and battered and pristine pages in the most perfect book. Story is the reason I’m a photographer – I have the ability to capture a moment that will...
this is where shit gets real. this is my cliff. this is where I jump.
I’m going to be honest. I mean really honest. I mean more honest than I’ve ever been with myself even honest. I suck at loving myself. I’m really really great at loving others. At doing things and being there for my friends and family. Even for perfect strangers. I put everyone first, while I settle for last place. Happily. Easily. Without-a-second’s-hesitation-aly. But it ends now. It has to. I’m going to crack. I hate my body. But what’s worse, is that I don’t love myself enough to have the courage it takes to do something about it. Which makes me hate myself, too. For years I’ve heard people tell me that I look great. I’m “so small,” but you guys! I’m five feet tall. Of course I’m small. The truth is that when I take off my clothes and see my reflection, I’m brought to tears. I’ve hidden behind the excuse of having a...
in pictures | the incredible year that was 2013.
I don’t know that I’m ready to summarize this past year in words. I don’t know that I’ve quite found the right ones just yet, and to be honest, I’m not certain I ever will. So I’m going to do the best at can right this moment, and allow my photographs to speak for me. I have exponentially more favorites than I could ever share in one blog post, so here are a few of the ones that stood out to me – in no particular order (and not including any iPhone or instagram photos.) It’s hard to believe that each one of these stories happened this year. Some feel as though they occurred ages ago, and others, still only just yesterday. But what I do know for sure is that every single person in these photographs – and so many more that aren’t pictured here – have completely and...
the day ethan and elizabeth gathered their families in a candelit winery in ohio and began their forever
I’ve known Elizabeth for the last decade, though I guess it’s fair to say that, up until recently, I didn’t really know her. She’s the youngest sister of one of my dearest friends, so our paths crossed a few times, but it wasn’t until this year that our paths became intertwined. Liz got engaged, you see, and her and Ethan wanted someone they knew to tell their story. Someone they could be themselves in front of. Someone who wouldn’t balk at their request to not use a lot of flash during their beautiful, albeit dark, winery wedding. Someone who would respect their decision to opt out of a first look prior to an evening ceremony in the middle of winter. Someone who wouldn’t make the day about them. Someone who would make sure that their wedding day wasn’t about anything other than their beautiful and incredible love story. So when Liz...
