I haven’t been very active with my website this year, or my photography business in general, but there’s a very good reason for it. After spending the first few months of the year dealing with some personal medical issues, and in addition to my son’s anxiety struggles, I decided to breathe deeply and take stock of what’s important to me. While I love photography and capturing special seconds in time for my clients, I realized I was spending more time editing the memories of other families rather than making them with my own. My relationship with my boy was suffering as a result and it was soon clear to me that I (we all) needed a break.

So I spent the later months of spring and the entire summer focused on my family. My son and I spent hours together each day, hiking, exploring, swimming, sleeping … all the ingredients of a successful summer. I haven’t regretted my decision to take this valuable time off of a career. Besides, it’s not like my camera was collecting dust on the shelf. On the contrary! It was right there with me, documenting the joys of a special little boy.

Another reason I chose to take this hiatus … my son is five now, and in just five days he’ll embark on his next big adventure: his public education journey. The big yellow bus to kindergarten rolls up to the house soon and it’ll be the start of an incredible new phase of life for him. My boy is growing up, and I had a perfect several months enjoying his company, gearing up to this moment.

My favorite thing about photography isn’t the business aspect of it … it’s not the money, the popularity, or the challenge to see how many clients I can book in a month. Nope. Photography, to me, is the best method to identifying those smallest of moments that end up defining our entire life.

Those moments with my son were plentiful this summer. He was my boy of summer.