Medicine from snake venom.

I was reading Gavin a bedtime story - otherwise known as facts from a dinosaur encyclopedia - and we came across a page about the legend of the Loch Ness monster. Apparently, conspiracy theories and heightened belief in the sea beast exploded after a “sighting” in 1934 when a credible surgeon made a picture of what appeared to be a large creature in the water and it was published in the London Daily Mail.

It wasn’t until the 1990’s that the photo was debunked as a hoax and participants confessed that it was just a painted plastic model strapped to a tin submarine.

I bet the makers of that model and photo are so annoyed at how easy it is to create a realistic fake photo now.

My husband and I are working on a tool that empowers local photographers to smoothly operate school photo days with consent, safety, personality, and ease.

It started as a course, but it's becoming something bigger and more important.

There is lots of software that says it does this, but with zero transparency about how they use name data, the ai facial recognition software behind them, cloud storage of images, or the parents collaboration in levels of consent and image use.

It's come to my attention that in 2026, this is no longer okay.

We’re using some pretty wild technology (that’s Matt’s lane) and some pretty strict humanity to balance it. It’s a powerful combo.

What good is technology if humans are glazed over in the process?
What good are humans if we step back and let technology do the glazing?

We went to the library yesterday for a summer reading kickoff that was dinosaur- renaissance-faire themed. While I’m still a little confused about that combination of eras, we brought Kira’s homemade popsicles for sampling with a friend on the patio before it started and I saw no less than 4 families I know and Gavin got to pet a snake and those are all good things.

I heard one of the reptile handlers describing how snake venom is being used to create treatments and maybe even prevention methods for diseases like Alzheimer’s that will probably be in regular use by the time our kids generation grows up.

Sure, sure we know that snakes keep the rat population down and the food chain and all that. But wouldn’t it be something if the thing you feared your whole life ended up being a catalyst to saving it?

To quote Alanis, isn’t it ironic?
Discovering that there really is bigger purpose and order to things than we can understand?

Isn’t it wonderful that there are people who are brave enough to handle and study snakes and wonder about things like creating ground-breaking medicine from something as lethal as venom?

I keep being fed content about optimizing and “automating your content” so I can “create more in less time.”

But writing isn’t just about the end product and what if I don’t want a robot to turn all my thoughts into streamlined captions with a call to action?

What if the stringing together of words is a process that helps me understand what I’m thinking and saying about the world?

Kindof like how the making of photos helps me see people with kinder eyes?

What if I don’t want more content?

I had three kids in a Michaels Craft Store this week which - do I get a trophy? Kira was giddy picking out new fabrics for a slew of summer sewing projects, and we got to talking with the college-aged girl who was manning the cutting station.

She asked Kira about what she had in mind for her projects and talked with Gavin about which Star Wars characters were their favorites. She said she doesn’t have time for sewing much anymore with college classes, but she’s worked here since she was in high school and Kira that that sounded fun. We kept Aaron entertained in a shopping cart by letting him rub his face on different yarns to tell us how soft they were. We got our kicks out of riding an escalator and I let the big kids go first while I was checking out and wait for me at the bottom.

Listen, I’m not saying it was a banner excursion or anything and I had to take a few deep breaths to maintain composure at requests for animal figurines and plastic knicknacks (why are these in a craft store??).

But the college girl handed us our fabric and said “you have really good kids; it was nice talking to you.”

I was glad I didn’t try to do this online.

I want to be in the real world.
I want to experience and marvel at the changing world.

I want to make medicine out of snake venom.

Most of all I want to keep making pictures that are very real and touched by real hands through every step of the process. There are a lot of tools that make things “easier” but I like that I can choose what makes the work better. They are not the same thing. Looking up makes my work better.

You are not a subject, after all, you are a soul. I’m not interested in cranking out more sessions if it means I stop seeing the soul.

That connection is what makes the experience more than something on your checklist or my checklist. It’s talking to the person at the counter and hugging someone at the library and being here in this moment of time together.

// new + noteworthy //

AN OPPORTUNITY // Faster is not the point when it comes to family photography, but I am offering mini sessions in July (also ironic?).

The point is that for a central VA outdoor session in July, mini is about all anyone can stand without sweating puddles.

Mini is still 20 minutes of intention and playfulness, a moment to breathe in the summer night air and hold you people and have it captured with delight for now and for later.

If the dates don’t work or you want more space to be yourselves and hold real beauties for your season at home or another favorite place, let’s talk about a home/backyard session this summer.

Just hit reply - you won’t get a bot response, it’s just me.

THINGS I SAVED THIS WEEK//
When I tell my kids we don't have screens in the car for trips <2 hours, I now have this in my back pocket for a baller suggestion of what to do instead.

When the healthy swaps have gone to far. 😂

School's out for summer - time to embarrass our kids.

IN-HOME FAMILY PHOTOGRAPHY SERIES (ON THE PODCAST) //

PART 4 this week is practical and to-the-point for photographers - 8 things to try when you feel stuck in a shoot. This series was really fun to pull together and has gotten some great feedback (if you want to leave it publicly via a review, though, that's extra nice!). Grab the companion resource with all the content in a handy reference guide for photographers right here.

SKINCARE //

I was influenced. It was worth it. Considering my skincare routine is minimal at best, this has been a simple addition for both morning and night. I love the way it feels and it's been gentle on my sensitive skin. Hooray for being a grown up.

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CREATIVITY | FAMILY | SIMPLE JOYS

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