2020: it’s the little moments | Year In Review

I was going through this year’s images, and was laughing at how emotionally disengaged I was. Don’t get me wrong – I value this body of work. But 2020 took such a toll on me that the idea of holding tender space for compassion and empathy was a little unrealistic.

And then I saw the image of Dom in the tub, and I remembered how I felt that day. The care we put into that moment. She and I had just met in person for the first time 12 hours earlier, in Pheonix, AZ. A big trip pre-pandemic. And she wanted a milk bath shoot, because why not. Artists – we like it creative. So we drew the claw foot tub full, used the milk bath bomb, and I sat in the bathroom with her, pulling apart roses, petal by petal, as she sat in the tub. At one point I wanted a wet hair look, so I took a washcloth and ran water down her long hair, streaming down her back, and she sighed. We both laughed at how intimate the moment was, especially for two strangers from Instagram. But as we shared stories of love and heartbreak, joy and determination, I recognized this was a moment we both needed.

And then I saw this image of my dear friend Maddy, standing in the river by Chilliwack at sunset, wrapped in a granny hankie. This was in late August, during a pandemic low, and I had flown into Vancouver for a week for this shoot specifically. It was part of a documentary she was part of, and part of a longer healing piece we had started when we first met – focusing on dance and movement as healing. And to get this shot, we had team of women who helped her get ready, showed us a location, started a fire, fed us, and cared for us. And we laughed, and we talked, and we shared story, again. It was something I needed, after a spring and summer of cancelled adventures, sessions and weddings. I needed to create again.

Those two images managed to make me feel again. To remember. To recognize what photography does for me, and for my community. And I am grateful. Proud. And while my emotions are still not yet eager to begin again, I am excited by the possibility of more art, more collaborations and more stories in 2021.

Thank you all for the moments shared in one of the roughest years ever. You were stars in a dark sky.