While rummaging through a bookshelf, I stumbled across “Picasso & Lump: A Dachshund’s Odyssey.” It wasn’t what I was looking for at the time, but I’ve been thumbing through it ever since. When I first bought the book several years ago, I was intrigued by the story. I’m not a fan of Picasso’s work, but I was curious about his funny little dog. Good enough for me. But this was before I started taking photographs. 

It’s still a dear story, but it looks different to me now. This book represents everything that I love about photography. Omigosh, the stories that these photos tell. These are more than moments preserved in time — these are emotions preserved in time. Tenderness, silliness, loveliness, contentment, energy, rest, chaos … you feel each photo. Minimal text fills in the background information, but you understand the story without a word. I just can’t stop looking at them and thinking, “Golly, I wanna be able to do that.”