Yet another year I’m blown away by their bravery, their creativity, their drive, and their unbridled joy. It’s all about these people.
I had a whole spiel here about the particular brand of bravery that I saw from these individuals this year. How they stood up in the face of homophobia, stood up without their families. Put the hard work in and poured their hearts out. How they confronted trauma and grief. How they let nothing – absolutely nothing – steal their joy. Not that it would have been possible to steal away with such things anyway. Pure joy is unbreakable. You’ll definitely see some of it below.
But that spiel is no longer here in its original format. With the global pandemic going on currently, everything takes on a different meaning. I know these images do. Our concepts of connection, touch, and intimacy will be forever changed after this. They will mean something fundamentally different. While the suffering in the world is objectively frightening, I have to say I am looking forward to seeing how the human experience will change and expand for the better after this. The promise of a stronger, braver, more resilient world is all I can dream about these days. Let’s put a pin in that and refer back to this at the end of 2020 and see how that played out, shall we?
I could sit here and wax poetic about how I feel about myself and my art and my career, but this job isn’t about us. It never has been. My first full-time season back in my home of Detroit was better than I ever could have hoped (don’t think I don’t see you, Chicago and Wisconsin! I loved your weddings too), and I owe it all to these people. This year, it wasn’t about picking stunners for this post; I wanted to choose images that I feel represent the growth and direction I’m heading as an artist, as well as showcasing the incredible people and moments (and dogs) in them. They’re presented here simply in the order of a wedding day.
One warm evening, in the middle of my wedding season, I was driving through the city, towards the blazing orange sun at the horizon, thinking about how wonderful it is to work in a city that I love, but mostly that I get to work with people who love Detroit like I do. And they choose to celebrate their love IN the city they love. And I get to be a part of that. There just aren’t words for this kind of gift.
Thanks for being brave. Thank you for showing me your joy. And though the future is uncertain, I am certain there will be more bravery and more joy. I’m looking forward to it.
