Hi there! Welcome to my first EVER blog post. Seriously, even back when MySpace was a thing I don’t think I ever even came close to breaching 2 sentences worth of content…do I even start my entry with a “welcome”? And what’s the grammar/sentence structure protocol of blogging? Who knows, but I’m excited to join this space and share a little bit more of me, but more importantly I’m excited for the opportunity to highlight my client’s stories – not to mention it’ll be much more fun writing about them!

So here I am giving this blogging thing a go!

I’m a naturally curious person and really enjoy studying others (not in a creepy way, but you know, just to figure out their story…although, if I were to choose another career path I really think I could excel as a private investigator.) But, anyways all that to say I’ll begin with a few things about me…

1. I was a nerd before it was cool to be one (as you’ll see below)…If I could have grown up a decade later; I would have THRIVED as a youth with my enormous glasses, buck teeth, bowl hair cut, and deep love for Lord of the Rings, Nancy Drew and drawing dolphins. My mom was (and still is) my best friend.
2. I got my degree in Architecture from BGSU (forever a falcon <3)…and although photography has always been my first love, I’m always up for a challenge and thought a degree requiring 4 years of no sleep sounded just about right. In all seriousness I do love it, (Architorture).
3. I’m married to my high school sweetheart and we’re enjoying life together traveling, adopting cats (well just one), killing all the house plants, spending way too much time at our favorite Mexican restaurant and doing variety of home improvement projects in our 108 year old house (its amazing the conflict installing hardwood floors as newly weds can create).
4. My first and favorite tattoo is my brother’s name on my wrist. To say I looked up to him would be an understatement. As a younger sister I mimicked him any way I could…he’s the reason for my tie-dye phase and attempts at becoming a soccer star.
5. My three younger sisters are my heart (Sorry, Julie & Carly for telling mom we’d rather not have you….when you’re 8 years old you obviously aren’t great at decision-making).
6. The Type-A/perfectionist side of me really wanted to end that list at 5…but I’m breaking boundaries people, watch out!

My Why….

If someone were to ask me why I chose to do photography a couple years ago I think I would have easily rattled off many reasons…I love creating, I feel gifted and confident in this field, I really enjoy connecting with people and learning their stories, and I love being able to capture the moments in time that so, so quickly pass by. And all of these still ring true but this past year weighty words like legacy and heirloom have been on my heart. My grandma (Mimi as we all call her) has advanced Alzheimers and no longer recognizes who we are or is able to share any more of her story with us. And what a heartbreaking realization that’s been. After my last visit with her, my aunt brought out a box full of all these photos of Mimi from different phases of life and my mom, sisters and cousins all gathered ‘round and picked up and passed around these yellowing images of her life…her time in the Navy, time spent on the beaches of Hawaii, her at my age and as a young wife and mother, her beautiful garden….Heirlooms. Legacy. How precious these images are to her children and grandchildren who weren’t around for all these different pieces of her life. And the stories and legacy of this astounding woman will outlast her years on this earth. I know as her granddaughter, being able to see and hold an image of Mimi in her wedding dress long after she’s able to tell me about how nervous she was that day is nothing less than a gift. And I’m so grateful for the people behind the lenses at those times in her life building Heirlooms for my family to cherish today.

So, I am grateful for this position behind a lens and the opportunity and privilege it gives me to create beauty and share legacies.