This photograph is nearly two years old now. This is my youngest daughter Stella at six or seven or nine months old, in a dress my mother wore when she was a baby, staring at me as I documented her awkward and determined attempts at learning to crawl. I sat on the hardwood floor of our rented townhome on the outskirts of Austin, Texas, I gazed at this beautiful creature as though I’d never seen a baby before – as though I was a tourist in Papua New Guinea drinking in a new and wonderful and rich and foreign land and its people – and soaked it in. I drank this little girl up, and swallowed hard with the full weight that came with the knowledge that this – that she – would be the last of my babies I would ever watch grow. Today, on the precipice of nothing...
the beauty collective | april 2013
Seven remarkable women volunteered to be a part of this Beauty Collective. They came to Taylors Falls with seven different and incredible stories. Seven sets of fears. Seven faces. Seven cars and seven bodies and seven beautiful hearts. These women are all beautiful. They are all flawed and imperfect. They are all funny and unique and special. These women are real. They are you and me. Your mothers and sisters and best friends, and strangers behind you in line at Target. They are faces in a crowd. Commuters. Worker bees. Dreamers. Lovers. They are each and every one of us. And they are remarkable. So, let us revel in their beauty. In their flawed perfection. In their exquisite and profound beauty. If only for a moment. And let us allow that moment to last a lifetime. To the ladies in these photographs, thank you. For giving yourselves over to this project. For showing...
may | a month without
If I’m being completely honest, the truth is that I’m tired of giving things up. In January this seemed like such a great idea – only having to keep a resolution for 30 days. But now, four months through it, I’m realizing that I’m giving up things too large for typical resolutions, and it’s a lot of work. Shopping, Facebook, sugar, junk food…all the things I’ve resolved to go without have been the right things, and I truly am better for choosing to be free of them for a month. But as I sit here typing this, on the precipice of a new resolution, I really just want to quit. Give up. Reassure myself that four months is a valiant effort and to be proud of what I have done and that it’s okay to say enough is enough. Which is exactly why I’m not quitting. Why I’m not done...
love is a place | on finding – and holding fast to your why
I’ve owned a camera since 2008, which I suppose means I’ve been a photographer for 4 and a half years. In that time I’ve been asked why I became one more times than I can count. People don’t ask that question because they are curious, but – in all honesty you guys – because it’s what matters. It’s been a resonating concept in everything I’ve done, and every person I’ve sought advice or guidance from since I decided to pursue photography as a business. I’ve read about finding my why on blogs and in books, and have been consistently motivated to dig deep. To have a purpose. To do things for a reason. To start with why. And to make it visible in everything. A month ago – in a gorgeous lodge in Colorado – I came back to my why. I wrote it down and forced myself to be accountable to...
