My journey as a photographer started off with taking a photography course back in 1996. The lessons would be mailed to me and I would complete them and mail them back. My instructor would give me feedback on a cassette tape. I was shooting with film back then - things have changed a lot! I started photographing my kids and friends and family and my business just organically grew from that.

I love photographing people - my favorite subjects are couples in love and new parents that are so completely in love with their new babies - so I guess LOVE is what I enjoy photographing.

I came up with the idea for this project while attending a photography workshop in Palm Springs which was hosted by Jesh deRox. Liz Arcus, a photographer from Australia, was speaking about having personal projects in addition to your regular paid work. I had lunch with her after she spoke and The Wisdom project came to me over that lunch. I wished I had better photos of my grandparents and some words of wisdom from them, and thought that most of us don’t realize and appreciate what an amazing resource our grandparents are until they’ve already passed. I thought perhaps I could document seniors and elders through photos and words for other families. I have been working on this project since 2012 and have published 2 hardcover coffee table albums as a result.

For the photographs, I have asked my social media followers to recommend inspirational couples and mostly I just ask couples that inspire me. It has not been difficult at all to find amazing couples. I just wish I had more time and resources so I could include more people in my project and make more books!

I find making time for this project challenging as I run a photography business full time and this project is unpaid so it sometimes gets put on the back burner when I wish it was my full-time job! That leads me to why I wish it was my full-time job - this work of photographing and collecting wisdom from elders is such a joy! I get to spend time with people that have lived such amazing and varied lives and have gained so much insight into life having lived it for so many years! I have learned so much and been gifted their time and wisdom by spending time with all of the participants! It does not seem to feel like work at all!

When people look at these photographs I hope they see that every person's life has great value! It doesn’t matter what job they did, or how much money they made - they have made an impact on the world and their friends and families. These couples in Wisdom of Marriage have modeled to their friends and family and community that love is worth the work! They have stayed together for over 40 years even when it was hard - and without exception, there were hard times in the relationships of every single couple featured, but they persevered and are growing old together.

If you're interested in seeing more of my photographs, check out my website page with the link to my books here.