This is a photo of my father-in-law, Stan, who has been one of the most influential men in my life. It is very fitting that he was the first person that I chose to photograph for my very special personal project. With this project I will be photographing people that I feel are wise, are living a fulfilling life, making a difference in the lives of others or if they just plain inspire me. Well, Stan fits all of the above criteria. As well as photographing my subjects,  I am asking them to give me one piece of wisdom or life advice that they would like to pass on to future generations. I am hoping to hold a yearly show with the people I have photographed that year and my dream is to eventually publish a book that features each person and their piece of wisdom. I came up with this idea last year while attending a photography conference in Palm Springs called The Beloved Collective. I was so inspired by all my fellow photographers and the amazing projects they were working on. My main inspiration was an incredible photographer in Australia, Liz Arcus, as well as the other speakers who encouraged us to follow our hearts and do what we love! I am so grateful for the people I met in Palm Springs. I am incredibly excited about this project as I believe it will be a way for people to pass on their wisdom from a lifetime of learning, as well as an even greater gift to their family and friends who will have this permanent memory of their loved ones. I just wish I had something like this from my grandparents and great grandparents! I just feel that when our grandparents are still alive we are not usually old enough to be interested in hearing their stories and learning from them. I find as I’m getting older I wish more and more that I could talk to my grandma and ask her questions, and I guess that was part of my inspiration to do this.

If you have someone that you think would be perfect for my Wisdom Project, please call or email me and I will add them to my list.