These were some of the very first pictures that I took with a DSLR camera. To be honest I didn’t really know what I was doing and other than a 20-minute crash course in photography that a friend had given me the week prior…I didn’t even understand how all of those tiny buttons on the camera operated.

I was on a mission trip and had been asked to capture some updated images of the work being done to share with donors stateside. I did my best to follow the instructions that had been given to me in the crash course and prayed that at least a few of the images would turn out decent.

Flash forward a few months – some images of that I had taken on that mission trip were printed and displayed at a donor even for those who were supporting the amazing work being done overseas. I remember standing in the lobby at the event and watching as a donor walked in. She stopped to look at one of the images on display then walked slowly from one to another until little by little tears started slowly streaming down her face. “These are amazing…” she said to me “we are doing some incredible work over there aren’t we?”

It was in the moment that I realized the power of photography. Her reaction had very little, in fact hardly anything, to do with me or my (in)ability to take photos…because let’s just be honest, I had no idea what I was doing at the moment. But using a small tool that had been put in my hands I was so in awe that I had been able to play a small part in helping that donor understand how much of an impact SHE was making. It was in that moment that I realized: (1) I loved taking photos and (2) photography has the power to show people a beautiful reflection of their own lives that they sometimes, in the day-to-day, see as ordinary, normal or mundane.

So now, almost six years later here I am…on a mission to continue capturing photos that show people just how beautiful their own lives are. Perfect? Never! But as I once heard it said, “a beautiful thing is never perfect.”
Friend, you and your life are beautiful…and every moment is worth celebrating. 🤍

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