The Power of a Photograph

During my last stylized shoot , I was asked by a good friend, Nicole, how I got into photography.

I guess nobody's really asked that specifically so I never had to think in depth about what drove me to want to get into this amazing art and turn it into my full time career.

After thinking about it for a second ......my thoughts went back to my grandmother, which I lovingly called Nana.

My Nana was the kookiest, funniest, and most loving grandma you could ever have. I grew up in a small coal mining town.... my dad was a coal miner, my grandfather was a coal miner, and most of my uncles were also in that field.......... Life was simple but memories were immensly cherished. This was a time when children still played outside, moms still stayed home with their kids, and families were closer.

Nana was always carrying the camera, she would take pictures during every event, holiday, birthday, well basically every day. I guess she really peaked my interest from a young age.

The one particular moment that really skyrocketed my interest in photography though, was the Christmas of 1998. Me, my mother, and my brother had moved to South Carolina that year, it was our first time being away from Nana and it was her first Christmas alone.

I never really knew the impact of us being away from her until we went through her photos after her funeral many years later. We had literally went through boxes of pictures with so many memories. It was a treasure chest of family heirlooms that could not be replaced. She had captured every stage of our lives ........... but what stuck out most of all was one. particular. photograph.

We found a picture that had Christmas 1998 written on the back.... when we turn it over we cried and were in shock because what we had saw was beyond sad.

My Nana had taken the pictures of all of us off her shelves and put them under the Christmas tree, she then took this picture.

I think it's her way of having us there even though we were very far away. This picture fueled a flame of passion that never went away.

My love for photography and capturing memories is strong because of my nana. I think everybody should be able to have captured memories......little reminders of moments past.....photographs to remind them of the special people and moments in their lives.

Those photographs gave her peace in a time that she felt alone.

That picture made me realize how important memories really are.

That picture made me want to be able to provide memories for my clients that could never be replaced.

That picture made me a photographer.