until i see you again...
Last year I was asked to photograph the most heartbreaking and challenging couple of days I've ever had..the visitation and funeral of a young man who left this earth too soon.
Though photographs from those days are not mine to share, I will say they are the most beautiful and compassionate photographs I have ever taken. I'm very proud of what I was able to capture those two days.
I see now what I didn't see then because I was shrouded in tear-covered eyes as I tried to photograph. I see the love, the compassion, the support, the everything that was given to this family during this initial time of grief.
You see, I had photographed this young man in a variety of sports since he was in 8th grade. He was always smiling even though he knew I was his paparazzi. He embodied what it meant to be a teammate. He was active, young, and carefree, so when I say this was the most difficult job I've ever been asked to do, I mean it. This will be embedded in my soul for the rest of my days.
One year later the family posted a lovely video tribute using photographs from those two days. Many might have questioned why there was a photographer there, but as someone who has experienced the shocking loss of friends and loved ones, those two days, the support, the hands that lifted you, and the love of those who came to show their respect, get all filtered through such grief and heartbreak that one only remembers the cloud that encompasses you as you try to navigate the loss.
Imagery helps bring some degree of peace and comfort for you to look back on. I cannot encourage you enough to have the pictures taken. Friends, the memories, and the love you feel through those images are so important. Little things that help you remember what was lost, but also give such peace and solace through the years when memory starts to fade.
The session that no one wants will be the one that, despite the sorrow and grief one will experience throughout their life as one thinks about their loved one, you need.