How do you remember them? Do you dare to think about it?
Last October, three long and pain-filled months ago, my only and much loved brother died suddenly. He was just 35. His abrupt departure from this physical plane sent us all frantically scrambling for anything that could link us to him. I scrolled through my texts, emails and Facebook messages, reading and re-reading everything from him. Then I started on the photos; pictures of him online, in albums and in frames. My eyes were desperate to drink in all the details of his face - his big green eyes, his cheeky grin, the many expressions. These photos help keep my brother in my life, they help keep him close by.
Sadly, it's taken all this - his untimely death and the over-whelming grief that has ensued - to make me truly value the service I offer to my clients. Now that I have a new, heightened sense of clarity, I can fully appreciate that it's more than pressing a shutter. It's about someone's heart filling with love and fondness when they look at these pictures of their loved ones, be it now, or in thirty years' time. Those pictures will matter.
Make the time to photograph, or have someone else photograph, those you love. Death can steal them away without a moment's notice.