Thanks for the inspiration and affirmation Sarah. I've quickly become a fan of your work from a photographer friend of mines, Elton Anderson. We seem to have this same conversation every 3 months or so when we both become overwhelmed.
you are so inspiring! So many of your posts have gotten me up and out and behind my camera
Very well said. I'm taking note of this post for sure. It's a great reminder for those of us who are hard workers...to be soft on ourselves and just slow down for long enough to see what we have accomplished. Thank you so much for slowing down yourself long enough to put yourself out there in a way that serves others!!! You and Chris are doing wonderful work and you both inspire me.
lovely message sarah! and i adore the last image. the simple composition and use of negative space just keeps me staring at it. hope you have a wonderful week!
Thanks for this, Sarah. Good reminder and, as always, great images. You continuously inspire me!
Hi Sarah,
i know this is late as a response but thought you should know.
I am the dad of two girls aged 10 and 12. Since their births, I have videotaped them growing up. One thing that always bummed me out was the sound of my voice on the videos. It sounds very cheesy at times.
Recently, I took on the task of putting all the videotapes on DVD disks and I often thought of editing out my voice with music or something else.
I wanted to finish this in case I should be taken away from my family suddenly. You never know.
But when I read your letter to dad, I was overwhelmed with emotion and I'm trying to write this through a veil of big wet tears (lol).
So because of your letter, I find confirmation that all this filming of cheesy videos was as important as I thought it might be and I also find confirmation that I should keep the tapes intact.
Thanks for sharing.
Bestie- can't wait to meet him. Beautiful letter and am so glad that you had such a sweet time with your fam when you were here.
i usually just stop in and search for new photos to be amazed by. i love to gawk at your work. it's gorgeous. i usually don't read the paragraphs w the pics. a picture speaks a thousand words to me. of course the title caught me. blasted. unfortunately i am one that can say "i know where you're coming from". i lost my dad to diabetes in '94...i was 13...um, he was 66, though. i know. super age gap. we didnt have a camcorder when i was growing up, so i have no tapes. however, my mom came across a family reunion video and i just recently got to hear my dad talk. truly an amazing sound. the year after he passed, i started carrying a camera w me everywhere. just cheap fuji cameras from walmart, but a camera. i'm very big into capturing moments and i honestly didnt put the two together..my dad is the reason i do this now. thanks dad.
I can't even read the letter, because every time I try, my eyes fill up with this watery stuff and every thing gets blurry
Reading your post about your father caught me by surprise, and made me start to cry. Your father would be so proud of the woman and photographer you have become. i only wish to be as good as you one day.
Awww, SARAH! This is so touching! I couldn't help but tear up while reading this. Hope you are comforted.
Sarah you are the cutest! What a special note to your Dad, thank you for sharing it with us.
Just beautiful. Your passion for the responsibility and honour of recording peoples memories is something I also feel deeply. You have a marvellous way with words. Thanks for sharing this.
Cool post, Sarah. I have two daughters. I bought a video camera when the first one was born two years ago. Now I know why. Thanks for reminding me.
Thank you for sharing this. Your story and your words are so powerful and truly inspiring. Wishing you all the best :)
Thanks for sharing more about your family! We love you guys and we know your dad would be sooooooooo proud of you!!!!!
wow. even though your years to enjoy your dad were cut short ..... you have some wonderful memories that were created. what a lovely letter you have wrote. big hugs to you and thank you for sharing. so beautiful.
Absolutely powerful. Wonderful.
Thank You so much for sharing.
Rachel :-)
this is so raw tears are welling up in my eyes too. i'm sure your dad will be extremely proud of what a beautiful person you are today. *hugs*
I couldn't have come across this message at a better time. thank you.
This post was beautiful, Sarah. So open and honest, I know that your dad would have loved the letter, and trust me I'm sure he has already read it. I believe that even after people are gone they are here all the time with us, giving us strength when we don't even know it. Your love and appreciation for him and the time you had with him is so visible and the impact he had on your life is evident from this beautiful letter. You highlighted something that is so important that I think sometimes people take for granted, the power of both photography and videography is immense. I find myself taking pictures every day of the normal things that go on in my house. Sometimes my family asks me, "why are you taking photos of this? it's nothing special." to which I reply, "it may be nothing special today, but in ten years time we will look back at these pictures and be happy to see normal the way it used to be" This was a beautiful post for me to read today, so thank you.
What a truly beautiful tribute, Sarah.
Your writing is honest, rich and full of love.
You had me in tears. Thank you for reminding me how precious life is.
Sarah, how precious of you to write about your Dad. June 1, is always special to me. Rod loved his birthday. I visited his grave yesterday with Mom. He was a wonderful, fun, funny brother and he loved your girls. Thank you for writing to him, means so much and sharing with all of us. You are so precious. He is missed very much!
Love you, Aunt Karen
ah Sarah so so beautiful! love the photo, he would have been so proud of you
what a beautiful letter and tribute to your father...he would be so proud of you.
It takes great courage to write something like that on your blog. I almost lost my father when I was 14 (brain tumor), and your post reminded me of that time of loss and confusion I felt and how grateful I am that my father pulled through and is still here with us today.
You are right. What we do with our art and our passion is something that will last in our clients lives and the lives of their offspring.
I am sure your dad is shining where ever he is when he thinks of what you bring to this world and the honor you give him by sharing your story with the masses.
It takes great courage to write something like that on your blog. I almost lost my father when I was 14 (brain tumor), and your post reminded me of that time of loss and confusion I felt and how grateful I am that my father pulled through and is still here with us today.
You are right. What we do with our art and our passion is something that will last in our clients lives and the lives of their offspring.
I am sure your dad is shining where ever he is when he thinks of what you bring to this world and the honor you give him by sharing your story with the masses.
you cried writing and i cried reading. what a beautiful way to remember your dad and tell him happy birthday :)
i love that you look so much like your dad... :) what a great letter. sending big hugs your way friend...
thank you. thank you for sharing your memories, your heart, your love for your dad. i'm going to go call my dad right now. thanks for reminding us all about what is truly important in life... each other.
Sarah, I am crying and happy and mostly proud. Love as always. Alex. (I have some great photos I would like u to have)
this is so beautiful. my eyes are filled with tears and my throat got that lump as i read your words. i was thinking so many things in the like yesterday on Memorial day about a woman who impacted my life incredibly and is no longer here. those pictures, videos, letters, jewelry will alwasy hold a real, alive memory. what a gift to have them to remember by. just as written word, even on a blog....thank you for writing and for being willing to share intimate thoughts.
You made my cry sweet Sarah. Though I never met him, I know that he would be as proud of you today as we all are to know you. My love!
beautifully written Sarah! I have tears in my eyes thinking about this post from my own kids' perspectives.
I'm so touched, Sarah. My daughter just turned 15, just a bit older than you were when your father passed. As a hospice volunteer, end of life is something that's familiar to me and sometimes hits home closer than I'd would like. Thank you so much for sharing something so dear to your heart.
I'm sure your father would be so very proud of the amazing person you've become.
Sarah, what a beautiful post. I had tears reading it. Thank you for sharing and the reminder of the powerful responsibility we hold as photographers.
Well put, Sarah. I'm so sorry your dad is no longer here, but I'm sure he is very proud of you.
Today is moving day! Yesterday we picked up the keys to our new home. It has been a wild ride through the home buying process. I don't think I had nails for about three and a half weeks :) but we are so thrilled to finally be moving into the new place that is really ours this time. We didn't want to say anything until it was official just because something could fall through at anytime so it is nice to finally scream it from the rooftops.
I woke up this morning and realized that this will be the last morning that I will wake up in this house. For a brief moment I was truly sad. Sweet memories surround in every room and hallway here. So many dreams have been captured within these old craftsman walls as we stayed up late in the night whispering the desires of our hearts to one another. It was within these walls that we took some of our biggest risks together. This is a special little house that has served us well through some of the most pivotal moments of our life thus far. This is our first "house" together after our apartment. I will never forget moving in and deciding at midnight that it would be a 'good time' to paint the kitchen. We painted the whole thing only to realize it was a sterile hospital lavender sort of color... yuck. ;) So there we were sitting on the cabinets covered in paint at 4 am and all we could do is laugh and attempt to paint it all over again (and thus was the inception of our hatred for painting!). This was the house that we fell in love with a little cat named Stella who started following us home right after my grandmother passed away last year. She has been like a little angel to us so we will be sad to leave her behind, although I'm sure our neighbor will appreciate us not taking her along for the ride ;) One of our favorite things to do at this house was to sit out on the porch together, watch the rain, have Stella hop up in our laps and talk about life together. Our friend, Jill, took this instax photo for us a few months back doing exactly that, it is one of my favorite photos of us.
So today we start new dreams in a new place. We whisper the new secrets of our hearts into it's walls and we have a beautiful new start. I cannot wait to fill that home with lots of love and laughter.
Today is also the day that we carry LOTS and LOTS of boxes.... ;)
We have lots to blog and many emails to respond to upon coming back from Banff, we just ask for a little patience and grace this week since we will be in transition between homes.
How exciting! Congrats! I say always pay to have someone else paint your house. It always looks better when a pro does it anyway. Save your brain cells from the fumes :) Have a wonderful time settling in and making your new house yours. xoxox
Sarah, please come back! I've been following your blog since earlier this year and I absolutely love it. I miss seeing my RSS feed being updated every morning. I can always rely on you to post beautiful pictures!
Sort of random: I've been following your blog for a few months, and think your photos are completely beautiful. And you've really inspired me to find my voice in my work (i'm a graphic designer), so that it can stand out against all the other noise. your photos truly stand out.
i saw that you were in Banff and immediately e-mailed my boyfriend who is a bassist and in Banff at the summer program. and much to my jealousy, he said you were in fact photographing the big band! what a small world right? hope you enjoyed it. and good luck with your new house! it really sounds like you had a crazy week.
ugh.. scratch that. I just saw the dates... :)
Next time!
Banff, as in Banff, Alberta?
If so, stop by Calgary. Let me treat you guys to dinner!
best money I've ever spent every time I move is hiring professional movers! Can't wait to see your new house.. is it from that rad architect? blog will tell...
Good luck with your house move! if i didnt live in Ireland i would offer to help you with moving all those boxes ;)
Congrats to you, friends!! Sending unpacking love and good energy.
Congrats Sarah & Chris! I hope moving goes well for you! Can't wait to hear about it when you shoot our wedding!
Oh wow - we just moved a few weeks back - it is intense. Life changing. Blank canvas which is so exciting, but a lot of boxes to sift through before you can start seeing the artistry take shape. Sadly, we are renting our new home too but are still dreaming of the home that will be ours forever when it comes to pass. Good luck with the move and all that goes with it and can't wait to see some snippets of the new family home. I hope a new kitty comes into your lives there too! Happy trails.
congratulations on your new home sarah - i hope that your first 'sleep' there is deep and dream-filled. xo
Sarah, this was such a cute post, I hope my first house is filled with as much love as yours was :). Congrats on the new one though. And perhaps a new cat, too?
Aww, I'm so glad you could use the picture here. I love this one of you. A big congrats on owning your first home. It's pretty darn special.
Congratulations to you both...may you both make amazing memories in your new home...all the best with your move.
awwww YAY! i'm also a realtor too so i have a love affair with homes as well! so glad you have one to call your own! so so wonderful! can't wait to see pics ;)
Congrats to you both! Lovely post as well. Thanks for sharing. :)
Congratulations! I love this photo of you guys! So happy for you!
A world of congratulations to you both! Best of luck with the move and have fun unpacking and setting everything up. Blessings on your new home! :)
Congrats on the new home. My wife and I just got keys to our new place last week. Fun and excitement awaits you!
CONGRATS!!!
We're very excited for you. Such a sweet new chapter to write.
yaaa!! it was so exciting to be there with you guys when you found out it was official! have a fun week unpacking and settling in :)
congrats you two and here's to new walls expanding with love, laughter and embracing new secrets. all the best guys!!
congratulations! we just bought our first home and it is such an exciting (& sometimes stressful) process. have fun with your packing & unpacking!
Love this image! And I love summer too!
Love this one -- and love shooting with you two!
It's freezing here but your photo and words have warmed me up : ) I LOVE this image!
Have fun in DC! I can't wait to see the rest of this shoot. Looks like a perfect summery photo shoot.
How on earth you have time to learn to garden, I do not know. Even with all that momentum. You amaze. Not just me. Everyone :)
summer is here!!!!!!!!!!! YAY!!!!
beautiful image!!!!
What a beautiful shot! I like your summer love list :)
love the styling in this shot!
Was this your fun Wednesday shoot? Beautifully done....
Was this your fun Wednesday shoot? Beautifully done....