there’s something terrifying about wide open spaces. while they’re beautiful and breathtaking, they expose things. in their vast emptiness, they expose all that is around them. the word itself is cringe worthy: expose. but i’m learning that through exposure, things come to the surface that can bring about some intense growth in much needed areas of life. it’s terrifying and sometimes painful, but it’s also beautiful and breathtaking.

in the minutes before kristin and chris arrived for their engagement shoot, the vast emptiness of the wide open spaces i chose to shoot in overwhelmed me. i felt small. i felt insignificant. i walked for a bit praying that these areas of growth i’ve been experiencing would be a little less terrifying and a little less painful. it’s hard to be exposed. it’s hard to see all your flaws and failures out there in the open. it’s hard to see past them to the things that have been accomplished and to keep in mind all the great and incredible beautiful things there as well.

as the shoot came to a close, i found myself thankful for the wide open, for the empty spaces. it’s challenging, it’s terrifying, but it kick starts growth. as i watched kristin and chris in the midst of such wide open spaces, their love, their friendship, and their warmth towards each other soothed me as i shot. there they were, two people completely in love and about to commit the rest of their lives to one another and there i was, feeling exposed in the wide open space. and yet, that exposure – those feelings of fear – they were all worth it. 100% worth it.

dwell in possibility…