sand and souls

This photo almost didn’t exist… and I’ve been a mess this week because of it.

I learned a very important lesson after thinking I had lost my memory card full of beautiful images from a client shoot with an amazing family. What I learned was far beyond just a lesson on being more careful with my cards. I learned that you can’t replace memories, and that pictures are far more important than we are sometimes aware of. I was reminded of the importance of my job, and the responsibility that comes along with it. These images are treasures, and the thought of losing such a treasure was truly heartbreaking for me and for this family. I also learned that sometimes what we are looking for truly is in plain sight. I searched every nook and cranny in my bag, went back to the park and scoured every inch of grass I had been in. Then today I went into one of the pockets in my bag where I keep my business cards, which appeared to just be as I’ve left them, a stack of cards, totally flat. I had looked on either side of that stack of cards 10 times, and even pulled them out to look under them. I don’t know what made me sift through them today… but I did, and the card fell out from inside the stack of cards into my hand. It was there all along, right in front of my eyes, I just had to look a little harder. Hard lesson for me, but such an important one. I am just so grateful that I was able to find these images… I hope the stress I caused this family is erased at least partially by the excitement of getting these memories back. ❤