A soft fire crackles to the left, emanating a warmth perfectly contrasted by the cool cup of eggnog in my right hand. My grandmother sits feet from me, telling me once again of past adventures. I've heard most of them before, but that's okay. She likes to tell it and I like to listen. She's my Grandmom, and in that moment I couldn't imagine a more fruitful way to use my time. I listen because the words matter. Because love is often shown most strongly in the simple act of being there.
For me, photography is about way more than just taking pictures! Where the cake decorator and florists drop off their work and are finished, photographers are there till the very end. I get to console the bride when things get behind, and I am there to laugh with the groom when he loses his socks. I am a photographer. Yes. But more than that, I am a participant in the beginnings of great couples, and that's why I do it all. Because at the end of each wedding, I know that my being there not only produced great work, but far more importantly, my presence added life to the day in a way that no one else could.
Although I will probably never meet the photographer who captured this image of Dalta, I will forever be thankful for her. To me, it's more than a wonderfully captured senior portrait. This is my cousin, a woman who loved others so unbelievably well. Who encouraged me to pursue medicine when I didn't have the confidence to believe I could. Who set me up on blind dates. Who was on track to become one of the best officers the air force had ever known. Who saw the person I would become far before I did. When I look at this image, I remember Dalta.
Here and now won't be around for long. Soon enough time will roll through and take the people we hold dear, leaving us with fading memories and whatever images we were lucky enough to grab along the way. Images of moments worth remembering. The tears. The smiles. The kisses. The love. We capture these photographs so that when the time comes, although we may never meet the photographers who took them, we need never forget the people we love.
PC: The Blink Lady
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