Conflict
As parents we are given a wonderful opportunity to capture the story of our children’s lives.  As my husband and I travel for work, I’ve noticed parents all over the world are missing out on this opportunity because they are in a habit of asking their kids to say “cheese”.  What if we refused to say cheese and became documenters of our children’s lives?  Capturing moments of tension, growth, discovery or adventure is what I refer to as conflict.

Pascaline was only five when she first started rock climbing.  She was super excited, but when it came time to getting roped up, she was terrified.  I stood back from a distance with a zoom lens to document the experience.  If I asked her to look at the camera and say cheese, I would have missed the growth happening inside her -- the tug of war to be brave or run.

When my children are adults, I want them to be able to look back on all the photos taken as if they were a window shedding light on who they were, what struggles they faced, how they overcame, how they took risk, how they gained and how they lost.  I want the photos to unfold stories of their perseverance.   Whether it is rock climbing or being determined to tie your shoes on the first day of kindergarten.