This international award winning image came about from a visit to a dear friend from high school in Albuquerque. During my stay his son and daughter in-law, who were visiting from out of state, came by with their two little girls, one a newborn. I offered to photograph them. Afterwards the young mother, Amy, approached me to ask me if I would accompany her to visit her mother who was now in home hospice after a long battle with cancer. Her mother had not met the newborn yet and Amy wanted me to document the meeting. She wanted one last family photo. I felt honored that she trusted me with such a task but also slightly intimidated by capturing such an intimate, life event with the dignity it deserved. Her mother passed a few days later. As the years go by these images have become more precious to her and her young daughters.
Family photos capture life’s more significant events, often happy moments like birthdays, weddings, graduations, engagements. One of the reasons I decided to try family documentary photography was to capture the daily life of a family, unedited, messy, spontaneous, joyful, hilarious , meltdowns etc; it was what a family looked like at a particular moment in time. I always felt my shoots were a gift to the families. But the above shoot was different. It was not joyful. It was not celebratory. But I know that all the images I gave Amy of that day’s shoot are counted as the most precious items she owns. They are a powerful reminder of how precious life is as well as the strong bond of mother/daughter relationship. It a cycle of love that will continue with Amy and her young girls.
NB I do have Amy’s permission to post this intimate image. She herself has posted it on social media.
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