I've had a passion for photography for as long as I can remember. my favorite person in the whole world helped me to see that photography could be something I could do for a living. my aunt chris was one of the most amazing women I have ever met. she married my uncle when i was about 6 or 7 and they had their first baby, emily, when i was 9. being one of the oldest cousins in a big family, i liked to look out for my younger cousins, and especially the babies. they had another little girl, annie, when i was 10 and every time I went down to my grandma's house, I would always go over aunt's house to play with the little girls.
chris also had a passion for photography and she always had her camera out at every family gathering. she was also really in to scrapbooking and keeping track of family memories. she would tell me about all her photography tricks and also told me that for each amazing picture that she took, there were about 100 bad ones she had to throw out. she was young and funny and listened to the cool radio stations, which I thought was awesome.
Chris with Emily and Annie
somewhere soon after annie was born though, my aunt chris found out that she had breast cancer. she was only 30 years old. as i got older, my aunt and uncle would always ask me to come down and babysit for them so I spent a lot of time with my aunt and cousins. she always stayed strong and had a smile on her face. it became even more important for her to write down and record their memories into her scrapbooks.
five years passed and she went in to remission which was a miracle. what was even more amazing was she was able to get pregnant again and gave birth to their third daughter, ellen. everyone was thrilled because they were sure that this meant she was in the clear. but soon after ellen was born, she started to go down hill. every chance i got i would make the 2 hour drive to Cincinnati, since i had my license by then, to spend time with the girls and my family.
Chris with Ellen
my aunt fought a long and courageous battle, but about two weeks after ellen's 5th birthday, she went home to God.
it's been about 3 1/2 years since my aunt passed away and I still have trouble telling her story without getting upset. i wouldn't say that the reason i majored in photography was because of her, but she definitely started the spark that led to my passion. right after she passed, i went through a hard time in my life where it seemed that everything was going wrong and i didn't have much hope. but through photography and the insight that it gave me, i was able to make it through.
so this is where "picture me" comes from. it is also the reason why I got my first tattoo. I'd thought about it for a long time and finally decided to have my favorite bible verse, Corinthians 13:13, written in italian, which is where my mom's side of the family is from. Faith, Hope and Love are three virtues that I live my life by and the three things most important to me. to see it every day in my reflection is a reminder of what I went through and what I still have to look forward to in the future.
this makes me cry :' (
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