When I think about this past year, it seems as though five have passed. So much has happened, and yet I still have so much further I’d like to go. I’ve pushed myself remarkably hard this year – to find my voice, to shoot for myself, to be true to my vision and my brand. I’ve branded myself (or at least started to) and I’ve really begun to discover who I am as a photographer, or at least I think I have.
This business is tough, I’m not going to pretend otherwise. And it’s extremely trying and at times remarkably arduous. But it’s three thousand percent worth it. The heartaches, the triumphs, the little victories and the setbacks. I wouldn’t trade it for the world. Okay, fine, maybe I’d trade the setbacks, but in those moments, when I’m mad and frustrated and just want to throw my hands up, and the towel in and just give up, I remind myself that if it’s easy, if it doesn’t hurt, then I must be doing it wrong.
For if art truly is an extension of one’s soul, then its birth, like that of anything, doesn’t come without momentous effort, searing pain, delirious exhaustion, or tear-realeasing, soul-filling, heart-wrenching joy.
The images below, then, are the fruits of my proverbial labor. These images are a visual representation of my body of work in 2012…as well as all I hope and aspire to become in 2013. Thank you to all who helped make every single one of these images a reality. To my amazing clients, for your candor, your friendship, and most importantly your trust, to my friends who were brave enough to stand in front of my camera, and to my fellow photographers who have taught and pushed and mentored me, I owe this body of work to you. I thank you – more than I’ll ever be able to express in words.
More than I could ever show in photographs.
You are the heart in my art.
I love you and am so incredibly thankful for you. For this.
Every last drop of it.
xo.
