The things that mean the most

There are certain images that I'm honored to be a part of, images that have a deep meaning. A great deal of my work is creative, fun, and adorable portraits. This little man's session was fun, but this particular image gave me a chance to create a deeper more meaningful image for the family.

I can trace my family's military history back to the Civil War and although I thoroughly enjoy the creative side of newborn photography, patriotic and military-inspired images are my favorite. This little guy is laying on his great grandfather's Army uniform and rocked his uniform hat as well. His father is currently serving and the way it looks, he might just be in the military as well.

I love the thought that this image that captures so much of the past can now be here for many many generations to come. I hope this family enjoys and cherish this image almost as much as I enjoyed capturing it.

The story of a lens.

Do you have a story for any of your camera equipment pieces? I do, and it's a story that changed my life, and it is completely past due for a good tellin'!

I had just decided that photography was something more than just a hobby and a past time and had decided to make a living offering photography services. A really close military friend of mine called me up and told me she had a lens for me, and that I could keep it. She said I would use it more than she would ever use it and that she wan

ted it to go to someone that would treat it right and do great things with it. (boy did we both not know how that would turn out).

So I went over to pick it up and she told me the story behind this particular lens. See, this lens had belonged to a US Solider, a soldier that had deployed and had taken his camera overseas with him to capture portraits there. This lens had been one of those pieces taken around the world with him. After this soldier served his time, the demons that come with his line of work was just too much, and he had taken his life. He left his gear to my friend, and she trusted me to take care of this for him.

I bet you're thinking wow. Yeah, so was I. No pressure right? I had never shot with anything except Canon kit lenses, so I was super ready to take it out and create some amazing portraits with it. I used this lens more than anything else in my bag. I took a portrait of a military homecoming between a father and his daughter, and won the 2014 Army Digital Photography contest with it. And then in 2015 I took the Internationally viral portrait of the US Soldiers breastfeeding in uniform with it.

I won so much with this lens, and I worked it to the point of no return. At the 2016 WPPI event in Las Vegas I approached Tamron at their booth and told them the story of this special lens, and asked them if they could fix it. It wasn't a price issue, it was because at that point I was attached to the lens. I needed it to work again. It meant the world to me, and like everything else, age had started to take it's toll.

Tamron's customer service was amazing, and after taking the time to listen we decided it needed to be sent in for further evaluation. A few weeks went by and I was finally told that this lens needed to be retired. But through the entire process Tamron became an important part of my life, my business and the way I shoot as a photographer. Now I'm proud to say that they sponsor me in all of my endeavors. We have a great relationship and it grows deeper every day. In fact, I'm sitting at White Sands Missile Range right now prepping to capture the portraits of the remaining survivors of the Bataan Death March as well as the march itself this weekend, with nothing my Tamron glass in my bag and on my camera. Every once and awhile the stars align and you find the perfect match for you in this world, and Tamron has been that perfect match for me and my photography. All because of a 75-300mm lens. What a story, right?

The moment my photo became a global movement…

You know that moment that you click upload to share a sneak peek of the most recent session you’ve had on your Facebook page or any other social media site, and feeling accomplished you close up the show and go to bed? You lay down and close your eyes, feeling satisfied that you’ve shared your absolute best and in the back of your mind wonder what comments you’ll be able to read in the morning.

I had a day like that …. I posted a photo at 11:59pm on my Facebook page and went to bed knowing that I would read, what I thought at the time, would be some interesting comments from my fans/clients/friends in the local community the next day. I was so excited, hoping to see that my photo, that was completely out in left field and one of it’s kind, would make history. I knew a photo of it’s kind had never been taken, or at least never been shared. I slept good that night, and woke up the next morning ready to go. I made a cup of coffee and went to my computer, ready to start the day. What I found surprised me. The photo had been removed from Facebook. No reason why, it just had. Determined more than ever to share, I reposted and commented on how it had been removed. What I started at that moment as a global movement and a globally viral photo.

Now, my assistant was off work that week. Her daughter was modeling and walking in New York Fashion Week and I had told her to even turn off the notifications on her phone. We are both work-a-holics and I knew if she didn’t she would work all week and I the focus that week shouldn’t have been on me. My husband was at work, he is Active Duty and was preparing for a cycle in the field, away from home. Our dishes from the night before were sitting in our sink, as I really wanted to get the sneak peek online instead of doing them. Life was “normal” when I reposted the photo. The initial feedback was exactly was what I was expecting, support from everyone I already knew and support from the girls in my photo. I felt pretty good about it. I had no idea what the next 5 days of my life would be like.

I’m pretty sure CNN was the first National news media that reached out to me. After doing an interview with them, they posted the story on their social media and started a wave of constant calls, emails, messages and everything in between. For the next 5 days I would get almost no sleep. From People, Time, Vouge, Cosmopolitian, Buzzed, Washington Post, Huffington Post, Daily Mail to the BBC every large social media reached out to me in any way possible. My little team (my poor assistant returned on day 3) couldn’t keep up with the conversations and requests. From a radio request with the BBC, to a Skype call with Headline news… I was the talk of the world. The photo was taken at Fort Bliss, TX which is the Army’s premier installation in El Paso, TX. We even trended #1 on Facebook for a consistent 30 hours or so.

Going viral… it had happened. I didn’t plan it. I don’t think you can “plan” that kind of attention. It took me almost 6 days to even finish doing the dishes that had been in my sink. Somehow through it all I had gotten my husband and all of his Army gear to the field. I also found a way to complete 2 newborn sessions and 2 cake smash sessions. I don’t think I have ever been so elated and so exhausted at the same time. Sleep only came a few hours at a time. Reporters were reaching our from Germany, Italy, France, Norway, Sweden, England, Brazil, Colombia, Australia and even into Maylasia. Obviously there were time zone issues and frustrations and my phone would ring literally all day.

My photo was of 10 active duty Army Soldiers breastfeeding their little ones in uniform. We had worked with Fort Bliss ahead of time, and found that there is no regulation against the photo, so I was very secure in my decision to take this photo. But what I didn’t realize at that time is that I would start a global renewing of the long standing breastfeeding conversation that happens all across the world. With the girls being active duty, they were not allowed to speak to the media, leaving me to be their voice. By the end of the wave, I felt like I was the voice for an entire world…. ladies were sending up their stories, tales of their frustrations. Not just of nursing while active duty, but stories of just going back to work, and the every day struggles that comes with being separated from their babies.

Over the course of 5 days the world knew my name. They saw my work, my passion, my life. I have had, and continue to receive, large corporations reach out to me to discuss the world’s notion of breastfeeding. One group that I’ve talked to a great deal is La Leche League. I am excited to say that we are talking to move forward with a few ideas that I have. To know that a company that is at an International level would be interested in my photography, my ideas and my passion … it’s just almost too much.

I never expected to have my name go across the world. I’m just a small town girl, with a Canon camera in my hand. There is much to say about the bravery of the girls that helped me do this. Making history takes guts.  We have handled it like a pro, the pro that I keep telling myself I am. I grew up thinking that I would be a zoologist, and now I am finally comfortable saying that I am a Professional Photographer. A photog with a vision, and a passion to help promote this cause. I breastfed my babies, and now it’s my turn to help promote how amazing it is for others.

I urge you to keep an eye on me and my journey. Life is finally calming back down, the phone has quit ringing with reporters hoping to get a new take on my story. The messages and emails are back to clients wanting to book sessions, and babies being born. But my life, my business goals, my purpose has changed. I have a voice now and I have people interested in listening… I can’t wait to add to my story, or maybe it’s time to just write a new one. Words are amazing and wonderful and great. Our history would be hard pressed to be passed down from generation to generation without the use of words. But a photo …. it gives a visual of the way life is. It captures emotion in a way that words can not. Yes… it’s time to create a new picture book!