It’s not lost on me…: Virginia Wedding Photographer

This winter has been unlike any I remember in recent history.  Snow upon snow upon snow.  I know it has been frustrating for many and while I too have been ready to see the new little sprigs of green coming up from plants awaiting their rebirth, I am grateful for the beauty of each season nature brings, not just outside but in my personal life too.

I have been thinking a lot lately about this gift it is to be a photographer.  I woke up this morning and thought what would I do if I weren’t a photographer?  It was something I could not even comprehend.  To me being able to photograph what I love is like breathing air to me or drinking water.  I don’t think I could survive without it.  At first when I began photography, I thought that perhaps it was becoming a bit of an addiction and that I needed to take a break from it to be a more balanced person.  What I realized was that I couldn’t leave it alone.  It was the one thing that allowed me to express myself without words, and communicate something so pure about human interactions that I feel drawn to.  Photography inspires me and makes me a better person.  Photography helps me to see the good in other people and causes me to pause and be grateful to God that he has created such amazing people.  That for a split second in time, I can freeze a moment and keep it forever, is a gift I don’t think I will ever be able to repay.

When I was 16 I went to the local junior college which was just up the road from my grandparent’s house.  Almost daily I would swing by their home on the way back from my classes and pop in for a visit.  My grandmother always had a cookie jar full, and even ready to cook home made pies in the freezer made with apples from her own apple trees.  I will always cherish those times together with my grandparents.  My grandmother would pull out her photo albums, which were well used and appreciated as evidenced by the cracking leather binding.  As she would flip through the black paper pages, her frail fingers would scroll over each image as she would recount the story associated with each picture.  One such picture was of a little log cabin she and her brother built in Alaska.  It even had a little stove in it with a chimney and a key to lock the cabin.  She would recount how she locked her brother out of the cabin.   As I stared at that picture, it brought me right to that scene in my mind.  I could imagine them in their childhood adventures.  It bonded me to her and I loved it!  That is the gift of photography.  It can tie us together and bring us back to moments that have already passed and gone.

I just wanted to share that it’s not lost on me, the significance of what I do.  My passion is capturing your passion, and I’m so very grateful I get to.

I found this little magical spot that reminded me of Narnia.  A special thanks goes to Brittany and Jeff who at the spur of the moment let me fuel my creative juices and came out to play in the snow.  Happy Wednesday!