If I’m being honest here, launching my blog has been on my to-do list for almost 2 years. Eek. I wanted to do it but I just couldn’t pull the trigger. I’m a recovering perfectionist, so I wanted everything to be perfect. Guess what? Perfect doesn’t exist. Who am I trying to impress, anyway? Let me tell you the God’s honest truth about why I finally started this blog: I lost my father on May 25, 2023.
Life is precious and fleeting.
I knew this before he died, but my appreciation for the gift of photography has never been stronger. I spent hours upon hours going through old photographs from his 64 years on this earth. I cried. I laughed. I cried more. Images are powerful. They can trigger memories you had forgotten. You can even learn something new about someone even after they’re gone. Over time memories fade, at least for me they do, but photographs stand the test of time. They’re there to remind you and to help you move through whatever feelings you’re drowning in. They’re also there to help you relive joyful moments: birthdays, milestones, holidays, weddings and simple moments.
Photography preserves memories and provides comfort.
All we have left when someone is gone are pictures, cards, maybe some letters and videos if we’re lucky, and our own memories. The strong ache of heavy grief we feel is equivalent to the depth of our love and connection to the other person. We don’t realize how badly we wish we took that picture, or made that phone call, or planned that dinner, until we can’t anymore. When I say photography is an investment, I mean that from the bottom of my heart. You will thank your future self for capturing these moments, especially the joyful ones. Since my days in a darkroom developing black and white film 18 years ago to finally taking the digital leap in 2021, my father’s apple orchard was where I practiced and refined my craft. I launched my business and work as hard as I do because of what he taught me.
A Farm Wedding Ceremony & Reception Venue in Rhode Island
He leaves behind a tremendous legacy. One that I hope to continue, although my love for horticulture isn’t what drives me. My love and respect for him is inspiring me to dream big and expand the business to serve as a farm wedding venue in Rhode Island. This is all in the planning stages, of course, but I think this is the direction I’m supposed to go in. I want to maintain my family’s farm and continue to share it with generations of families. I want them to be able to recite their vows and begin a marriage on the very foundation where I grew up.
As I reflect on my 33 years on this earth, I can’t tell you how grateful I am that I would stop my dad in the middle of whatever he was doing (to his dismay) and take his picture. I remember asking him to do a how-to video on blueberry picking and apple picking. I even convinced him to play a short role as “farmer Gil” on sesame street a few years ago. (He totally refused at first, but then was bragging about it after the fact. Check it out here and fast forward to 2 min 26 seconds).
My love for photography did more than I ever could have imagined, and I want to give that gift to others. You deserve to have life’s most precious moments captured. You deserve to be able to revisit those moments every day, and feel the joy, the love, and the connection. I never expected to lose my father this soon. He was supposed to walk me down the aisle. We were supposed to have a father-daughter dance at my own wedding someday. I won’t get to experience this, but many people will! So hold tight to those memories. Invest in photography for your own heart and the hearts of generations to come. Trust me, you will be glad you did.
Want to visit the farm? Click here.
More images from my darkroom days:
