Ten Years Of Gratitude + Claire's Communion

I find it incredibly fortuitous that I wrapped up edits on a shoot commemorating an important milestone in the lives of a family who have been devoted friends for plus 10 years, and loyal clients for the better part of the last 10...on the eve of the day that marks year 10 I officially cut the chord from the corporate world, stood at the edge of this cliff, said a small prayer, took a deep breath, and jumped.

And one hundred times over...knowing what I know now...I would jump again. Because despite the insecurity that inevitably comes with running your own business, and an intensely competitive and creative one at that, I wake up every.single.day hungry for more...the driving desire to capture more moments as well as the insatiable desire for more learning. I'm not sure I will ever feel like I've "arrived" as a photographer and I'm completely ok with that.

So not only do I want to give a massive thank you to my dear friends here who have supported me in this work from day one, but to every single one of my clients over the last 3,650 days who have believed in me, shared their lives with me, and inspired me to do better every time I pick up my camera. There aren't enough words in the English language to describe the immense sense of gratitude I have for this path I'm on and the people sharing it with me.

Croad Family

The universe conspired to put this beautiful family in my path and I couldn't be more grateful. We met at a cross country meet last fall and I discovered this family of Kiwis now residing in Portland, had previously lived in my small and relatively unknown hometown in Northern Virginia. Small world connections like that never cease to amaze me. But when we met up for their family shoot, that connection got infinitely smaller...not only had they lived in my hometown, but they had been neighbors and close friends with my tenth grade English teacher, a woman who helped inspire and nurture my love of storytelling, and is likely unaware of the massive role she played in helping to set the course for my college studies (and with whom I'm reconnected to thanks to Facebook).

I'm still in awe of this chance meeting. And with the time I shared with them in their own private slice of heaven, complete with real waterfalls. As well as the most delicious lamb shepherds pie they fed me after.