When I was in college, studying photography, I heard a definition of the word ”photograph” that stuck with me. The word photograph was coined in 1839 by Sir John Herschel and is based on the Greek word 'phos', meaning 'light', and 'graphê', meaning 'drawing'. So, a photographer is… one who draws with light. Drawing was my minor and I have always loved doing it, AND STILL, for me, there is nothing like capturing the real thing. Not a rendering or a likeness but the actual light that is there, that exists.
As far as a subject, I have never wanted to take photos of anything but people. I lovvvvvve people- in all our complexities and layers, our waves of emotion and not-so-linear growth. I am fascinated by our pain, and joy, and doubt and hope- and underneath it all, I really believe that we are love. It feels to me like we come into this world as pure consciousness and love. Then, after we learn how to be humans in today’s culture, we spend the rest of our lives journeying back to that place within ourselves- of wholeness, oneness, compassion and unconditional love. My passion for birth photography stems from wanting to “draw with light”, in an atmosphere that is SO FULL of it. The light of a woman transcending what she thinks she is capable of, the light of a new little being starting their own EPIC journey, and the light of community coming together, in whatever raw emotion or energy shows up, to support their fellow humans, on one of the most important and challenging days of their lives.
For much of my life, I fought my body and suppressed my intuition. For many reasons, societal and individual, my natural human instincts got warped into addictions, eating disorders and dysfunctional patterns of thought and coping. Through much therapy, recovery work, spiritual practice and progressively supportive relationships, I am getting better and better at not just listening to my body and intuition but honoring them and acting on their behalf! It has been a long and winding path, and I am grateful to be where I am on it. I would not be here without MANY loving (and some unloving) guides and cheerleaders that were absolutely critical to my growth and healing. I am sure there are still many to come… and I want to be that for others. I want to be in the room with birthing people- believing in them when they doubt their strength or intuition, rooting for them (however quietly), and capturing the primal and essential beauty in their faces, bodies, relationships and experiences!
I have not given birth yet, but I have been through many quite painful transitions/transformations. I have a calming, grounded, totally gleeful energy that I think will be supportive and welcome in the birthing space, but mostly- I see the best in people and I care, a lot! I cannot pay those back who have cared enough to support me through my pain, but I can pay it forward by supporting others through theirs… and can’t WAIT to get started.
