I have taken a long hiatus from my photography business for the past few years. I needed a short ‘break’ which turned into few years of not shooting at all. I needed some time to focus on myself, my family and really, what I needed was some time to figure out what kind of photography I wanted to concentrate on since leaving birth and lifestyle sessions behind. Being ‘on call’ no longer enticed me nor motivated me. I was tired, burnt out and needed a huge shift in my life. Being a stay-at-home mom and joggling 2 businesses, (I had e-commerce business too on the side) I had a hard time balancing it all which doesn’t really exist in life~! I always said, “You can have everything. Just not all at once!” and this statement hit home not too long ago.

So, I went out on this journey of ‘self-care’. I can tell you today that that was the BEST decision I could have ever made. Not just for myself, but for my family as well. Within last 3 years, I decided to focus only on documentary family photography by learning from my mentors, taking more classes online and expanding my vision for my work to really satisfy my own craft. All the hard work paid off with this news I’m about to share. I’m late in sharing this news on my blog, but if you follow my FB page, then you already know this happy news. I’m happy to share that in February of this year, I entered my first photo contest hosted by Documentary Family Awards which is an international collection of awards celebrating the BEST in family documentary photography. Photographers from all over the world entered 4,687 photos in 7 categories. So many talented photographers showed their best work. The guest judges were Felicia Chang, Ryan Christopher Jones and Rebecca Kiger. Each of them evaluated every single photos and the selected thirty or less of their favorite photographs. All winners were then chosen by Kirsten Bethmann and Jenna Shouldice, based on the guest judges selections. All these judges had a very tough job culling through so many images for this competition, and I’m certain that their job was NOT an easy task. Guest judge Ryan Christopher Jones wrote an article that was very insightful on what he looked for, how he picked his favorites images and offer valuable education with his words of wisdom. You can read that article here.

My intent for this competition had 3 layers of thinking. First, put myself, my work out there to receive constructive criticism which is NOT easy for any artists. Two, after receiving CC – to be vulnerable in ways to help me grow as an artist. And three, by putting my work out there and receiving CC – I am able to grow and expand – inward and outward. And if I didn’t place, well, I was hoping to receive at least an Honorable Mention knowing that I am on the right path for my photography career. And that’s exactly what happened to my surprise.  This intimate photo of my aunt, JoAnn and her mother, Nan was given Honorable Mention under Environmental Portrait category. When I took this image, it was a solemn day for all of us as we were saying goodbye to Nan. This was a very powerful image that stirred so many emotions and I knew I had a story to tell. Documentary photography has the ability to capture life and moments as they are, creating a visual story for the people within them. This single image of my aunt showed the power of love, the history about her family behind them as the background. At the same time conveying their inner pain, sorrow and fear that is within as they were parting for the last time. Documentary photography has a way of touching me in ways that other genre does not. It took me many years to really understand which genre makes me excited, bored, happy and even challenged. By taking some time off,  I have gained tremendous insight for where I needed to go. Having that clarity is exactly what I needed and feel so much gratitude from within.

Once again, I want to thank ALL the judges for their hard work behind the scenes. I am forever grateful for this recognition among my talented peers of mine from all over the world. To see more awarded photos from this contest, you can go to DFA’s website.