Category Archives: news

I hold it true, whate’er befall;
I feel it, when I sorrow most;
‘Tis better to have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all.

– alfred lord tennyson

today marks the start of my fall wedding season. over the next four months i will be documenting the love + lives of 16 amazing couples who have chosen me as their photographer, and i am so excited for each of them. having just returned from europe i am anxious to embark on this second half of a very busy year, continually honored and overwhelmed by all my incredible clients. 

however, i write this post filled instead with sadness, confusion, and despair. my heart is heavy, my thoughts disjointed, and i fear that words cannot express the magnitude of the tragedy i am about to share.

today, august 23, 2008, was the date of eric + laura’s wedding day. eric + laura were planning an intimate late summer wedding when i met them earlier this year and i was thrilled when they chose me (eric being very passionate and knowledgeable about photography). just last month we had a fantastic engagement session at great falls. last friday eric and i corresponded about the big day, finalizing times and locations via email from spain. he was so excited and i couldn’t wait to return to the states and capture their wedding.

arriving home wednesday night, i received the most devastating news: eric had died suddenly of a brain aneurysm. laura’s mother had called and emailed me, informing me of the tragedy. i was in complete shock. i stood staring at my phone, unable to comprehend the news. days later, i am still in shock. death is never easy to accept, but far more confounding when it happens so suddenly, to a young, healthy, vibrant person…and at such a tragic time in his life. i mourn for this loss every day, and my heart pours grief for laura, who lost her beloved fiancé, just days before her wedding.

i’m having a very difficult time resolving my emotions, or focusing on anything, but i know my sadness is nothing compared to that of eric’s family and friends, and everyone who knew and loved him. 

i write to honor eric’s memory, and to share again some of the images from eric + laura’s engagement session – which will forever be among the most beautiful and important photos i have ever taken.

yesterday, as i was preparing to board my washington, dc-bound flight from madrid’s barajas airport, a spanair plane caught fire and crashed during take-off. almost all of the 170+ passengers and crew perished in the catastrophe, save for 19 survivors who are reportedly in critical condition. victims were attended to almost immediately by a wave of emergency relief crew responding to the runway crash. 

the scene at the airport was one of controlled panic and heavy grief. barajas did not make the tragedy immediately known to travelers waiting in terminal T4, and we were first alerted from news feed from the states received via blackberry, just before our flight was scheduled to depart. boarding was delayed and people were beginning to wonder what was going on. passengers crowded around as i read the details aloud from my blackberry: a terrible crash had occurred on the runway of T4 and the airport was obscured by massive clouds of smoke from the burning wreckage. everyone had difficulty comprehending the shocking reality that just steps away from us people were dying. it was absolutely devastating.

the airport remained closed for approx. 2 hours, with flights suspended indefinitely. we were surprised to learn that our flight would depart only 2.5 hours delayed, and boarded with mixed feelings. anxious to return safely home, but plagued by the immediate and immense loss, the journey was one of silent reverence that i endured with a heavy heart.

spain has declared three days of mourning and airline officials are launching a full investigation into the causes of the crash.