My ‘mum’ gave me my first camera when I was about 7 years old. She taught me how sacred the fleeting moments in life are and how love is in the details. Whether capturing my sister baking banana bread in her pajamas or taking pictures of my family as we awaited the birth of a new baby, I loved to capture daily life on film. Instead of storing coats in my parents’ front hall closet, we stored boxes of photos, negatives, 8 mm film, and VHS tapes. The reasoning was, if our house ever caught fire, our memories would be across from the front door and hopefully they could be salvaged.
However, while I was taking pictures of friends and family, I grew disturbed by the photographs that I saw on TV and in magazines. When I was an undergraduate at Boston College, I studied how media imagery affects the people who view it. Degrading and dehumanizing women’s bodies has become the normal visual landscape in which we live. As part of my Master’s thesis I developed an interactive video connecting media imagery, self-esteem and violence against women. I continue to use this video to increase awareness of the harm in dominant imagery when I give lectures to high school and college students. However, I believe with awareness there also must be action, and so I want to bring more socially conscious images to our daily lives.
About five years ago I decided to ‘take back the camera’ and create my own organic images that value and celebrate people. My goal is to photograph “real” people and to show their natural beauty and emotion in the moment. The pressure for women and girls to be thin, young, and flawless is omnipresent. I photograph people, particularly women, from a place of reverence where you do not have to be a supermodel to be beautiful. The best images are caught when people are comfortable. I try to cultivate a space where you feel relaxed so that I can capture real smiles and natural movements.
I work independently and I’m also a photographer for a few event companies. Stephanie C. Olsen, a professional photographer based on the South Shore of Boston, has been a fabulous mentor to me over the past few years. I have become a photographer for her where I photograph weddings, portraits and events for her. I also work with Blue Line Entertainment and Event Connection, these two companies provide video, DJ and photography services.
I share a lot about myself on this website so that you can get a sense of whether I would be a good fit for you. Thank you for considering my work.