I always say camp friends are the best friends. And when this camp friend found the love of his life I was thrilled to be asked to take their wedding photos. Also Decorah Iowa people. It is the cutest little town of all time.
Let's Tell Real Stories
The bed was unmade, my face make-up less, I had fallen asleep in an old tie-dyed shirt of his. We only had a few quick quiet moments before we both had to start getting ready for the day. Yet still, I let go of control, forgot about making the perfect family portrait, and simply put the camera in his hands. Right away I could feel these images carried something special, something so honest that it felt like a little piece of my heart. There was something that told me "This. This will be important."
Often I hear married couples or parents say, "oh those days before kids! I can only faintly remember the people we were," or "everything changes as you get older". And most certainly they are hitting on something there. As we become parents our roles change. We trade them in our old titles for the honor of being a Mother or Father. A truly beautiful turning point where your focus changes to complete unconditional love and care of another, the ultimate act of service.
My beautiful Grandma, who passed away recently, wore the badges of Mother, Grandmother, Great Grandmother with grace and pride. Certainly she loved her family deeply. But as we went to visit her in hospice, what she wanted to talk about was those love filled days when she first met Donald. I have heard these stories many times. My grandfather died when I was young, so from her stories I can perfectly picture this young handsome army man who came in and swept her off her feet. But my grandma on the other hand, I could only ever picture her in her current role, Grandmother.
After her passing I was able to collect some old images. I can't even begin to explain the blessings these images carry. I have always believed that moments can be filled with something sacred, something divine. Yet I always found these moments to be only ours to hold. But as I stared at this picture of my grandma and grandpa in the messy first five minutes of their day I was connecting to a woman I had known my whole life in an entirely new way.
So LETS TELL REAL STORIES. Not only because they matter now, but for future generations. These stories become our artifacts, the fragments we leave behind for those we love. The truth outshines every single imperfection.
I was inspired to get in front of the camera in the first five minutes in Michelle Gardella's define school course, Family Tapestry. Even if you are not a photographer I highly recommend it if you are looking for a way to inspire an open, honest, creative environment in your home.
My May
There is something about spring that always brings a fresh perspective. As the trees bloom, I can't help but reflect what is blooming in my own life. Kicking off the wedding season, dreaming up what 2016 might hold, discovering a personal project that is filling my cup to the very brim and taking a course called Family Tapestry, which dives into what it looks like to bring family into the creative process. Learning to hold that space where I let go of control and just embrace the process, even if the result isn't what you imagined. The result this month is the most lovely of fragments to hold and keep, and I am just gushing over these spring treasures!
Detail from my first wedding of the year, early this month.
I have had a small obsession with the breathtakingly beautiful and short-lived floral of spring in MN. Nothing like a change of color to spark new inspiration.
No Words. This is my favorite picture of all time.
The lake. Maybe it is a Minnesota thing, but every home, every sacred place, every deeply embedded sense of belonging is marked by a body of water.
The lake, and some playing around with nighttime photography.
Getting myself in images more and more. Not because I just love posting pictures of myself. It is actually the opposite, it is hard. But how can I ask someone else to strip down to the heart of themselves in front of my lens if I don't know how that vulnerability feels.