Photography is something I have been passionate about ever since I was a little girl. My mother has told me that I used to run around with a little pink Barbie camera as a child, taking pictures of things, and my love for storytelling and image-making just grew from there. As a child, I never understood why my friends didn’t share the same desire I had to travel and document stories from around the world. My biggest dream growing up was to become a professional photojournalist for National Geographic, traveling and documenting world issues. I wanted to truthfully share the stories I experienced wherever I went. This all started to make sense to me after I accepted Christ into my life as an eighteen-year-old. I realized the passions I had were specifically given to me by the Lord.

Isaiah 1:17 is a verse the Lord put on my heart one-night several years ago, and it says, “learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.” To me, this verse encapsulates what it means to be a Christian photojournalist, to bring the truth to the world, tell the stories of those who are overlooked, ignored, or unable to on their own. In a world where the news often focuses on the negative, or only what gains views, sometimes the truth is buried or only given minimal attention. For me, I seek to bring those stories to light and highlight the beauty of God’s creation around the world. I want to tell the stories of people, and share joy with them as I give them time to speak and be heard. I also seek to tell the hard stories as well; stories of environmental issues and natural disasters that destroy pieces of God’s creation. What I don’t seek to do is be passive. I don’t want to see something that is not right, and not act to bring justice and light where it is needed most. Even in the hard stories, there is beauty and hope, and I want to share that.