Sometimes, even I forget how much of a gift pictures are.
In the times between handling pictures and photoshoots, I forget.
But then I touch a print or I open one of my children's books or I stand back and stare at my walls . . . and I feel it.
Don't ask me what the 'it' is.
I don't have the words. It's something similar to reverence, wonder, and incomprehensible gratitude.
Reverence because I'm so grateful for the person I got to photograph. I'm grateful for their beauty, their honesty, and their bravery. I'm moved by their story and what they chose to share with me. I feel thankful to be their story keeper, their image-maker, and their invigorator.
Wonder because how on Earth did someone so beautiful happen across my camera? Wonder because how does this person not see their own magnificence? I can not make something from nothing- matter cannot be created nor destroyed, just rearranged. It feels like a miracle, these pictures that get created from just a little rearranging. Nothing drastic, nothing unnatural. Just small arrangements of you . . . and that's all it takes for you to see how breathtaking you are. By the way, those that love you see it already.
And gratitude because how could I not be? Who wouldn't be thankful to be trusted by others to create and showcase them? I'm grateful because you change me, you trust me, and you allow yourself to be seen. I'm grateful for your smiles, your tears, your worries, and your triumphs. This brings life to your pictures. You and your you-ness sweep away the sterile rigidity of forced pictures and plastic idols of beauty. YOU make this come alive, I just sit behind the camera and document what happens.
. . . I guess I did have many words, just not one single word that describes all of that. But I know it when I feel it . . . and you do too.
I'm thankful and I stand in wonder that I know Shea Hollister- a remarkable woman full of talent and quiet, unending drive. Photographing Shea was a reminder of the joy of creating. It was a tribute to the beauty of all that Shea is, and a look forward to what will be.
Cheers to you, my wonderful friend!
Love, Melinda
Photography Studio in Athens PA.
Serving Athens, Sayre Pennsylvania, Towanda Pennsylvania, Elmira New York, Corning New York, and Twin Tiers area.
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Fox Photography by Melinda Fox
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