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"What matters in life is not what happens to you, but what you remember and how you remember it."
- Gabriel Garcia Marquez
HEY THERE ----- I'm Tiffany
JESUS FOLLOWER
TEXAS RANCH WIFE
MAMA TO ELEVEN, GRANDMAMA TO FOUR
COLLECTOR OF EVERYDAY MOMENTS
PASSIONATE STORYTELLER
PHOTOGRAPHER FOR THE MEMORY MAKERS
I have been taking pictures since my mama gifted me my first point & shoot camera so I could photograph my firstborn when I was just eighteen. Through the years, our family grew & I became increasingly passionate about documenting the candid moments of my children's lives, as well as the everyday journey of motherhood. I love capturing the natural moments of my children's silly faces & giggles together, their individual mannerisms, their unique interests and characteristics that tell who they are in the stilled moment of a photograph. I didn’t realize the true power of these photos until my three year old son died. The trauma of his death robbed me of so many of my precious memories -- photos not only became my greatest gift of remembering the moments with my child, but also brought me hope in my darkest moments. They allowed me to draw past memories and to relive the feeling of those sweet moments in time.
"There's this cupping grace to it - how remembering becomes healing.
We welcome remembering, we hold remembering, we let remembering wrap around us and carry us like a dance that need not end.
We are never abandoned when we hold on to remembering...
What and how you remember will determine if your broken,
dis-membered places will re-member you."
-Ann Voskamp
Photographs became stones to be stacked up tall against the elements of storm and time if you will....
a symbol, marking the story we've been given as a reminder for our children, our grandchildren, and generations to come, to remember that our God has been faithful and is forever working all things for the good of those who love Him. You see, thousands of years ago, the Lord's people fled their oppressors and in their fear came against a mighty river. It would have, should have stopped them. And yet, our God, the same God who breathes the life into our body, the same God who gives and takes away, He chose to part the waters, make a way, transcend all they could ever do on their own and take them across to promise, to provision, to protections, to peace. But before He did, He paused them in their steps, asked them to choose simple stones as a marking for the future and stacked them tall up against the elements of storm and time. Because when they were passed by, when they were seen, when they were told of for generations to come, His goodness would be remembered.
"In the Future your children will ask you, 'What do these rocks mean?' Tell them, 'Israel crossed the Jordan River on dry land. The Lord your God caused the water to stop flowing until you finished crossing it, just as the Lord did to the Red Sea. He stopped the water until we crossed it. The Lord did this so all people would know He has great power and so you would always respect the Lord your God."
- Joshua 4:21-24
As my heart began to heal, I felt a spiritual prompting to stack my own "stones"
for our family and future generations - much like the Israelites thousands of years ago. The
Lord led me to Joy Prouty (the best storyteller there is), who came alongside me in the depth
of my suffering to captured the pieces of our story that told of the worst day of lives. Joy
created the most beautiful film that gave my heartache purpose, while also reminding me of
so many cherished memories I had lost in the midst of our trauma. Working with heron our
story was truly a path of redemption to the immense suffering we had endured. The gift she
gave me was far greater than the incredible film. The entire process revealed a hidden passion
of my own to capture the special moments of others in ways that would not only document their lives, but illustrate their unfolding stories through beautiful photographs - just as she had done for my family. I began to study how to use photography to turn candid moments into meaningful art that would be treasured and become part of their family legacy. I never imagined the added fulfillment witnessing all of these fleeting moments of other families would offer to me or the renewing joy I would feel when focusing on another woman's face as she sees at her own "stones."
Life is busy and often hard, the daily stressors easily distract us from seeing the beauty in everyday moments that illustrate the true essence of our bigger story. I love capturing authentic moments between couples and families, mamas + daddies with their children as they unfold in front of my camera - whether it be the sparkle in a couples eyes, the way a man holds his soon-to-be bride, the look on their faces as they meet their newborn baby, the way a mother cradles her babe in her arms, the smiles and laughter of children dancing and playing together, or a family embracing one another in the setting sun.
Every picture tells a story . . . It is my honor & pleasure to capture any season of your families lives - even the seasons that don't feel worthy of documenting. When you look back, you will be so thankful you did!
"The photograph exists to remind us of the memory.
And not an image of perfection, but PROOF OF PRESENCE.
It is a method of preserving hopewhen everything else is shouting at us to give up."
- Joy Prouty