I was born in 1980 in the state of Maryland, an only child. My mother raised me pretty much on her own. My father thought that parenting consisted solely of paying for lessons and school books and nothing else. We lived a pretty isolated life. We never took the typical family summer vacation, never had visitors or get-togethers, and never kept a family photo album. There wasn't much to see or tell. The three of us were rarely together, there was no family dynamic.

In 2005, after college, I visited my mother's relatives in Indiana. Even though we were related, we were virtually strangers. The only thing I knewabout them was stories told to me by other people. As I got more acquainted and used to being around them, I began to photograph them. And soon I felt like I had a real family. Not long after, my mother decided to live here as well

Now I am the family photographer, the collector of images.

I am not solely concerned with reminding people of the good times shared with loved ones as I am about recording a family history. Much of what we know about our ancestors is determined by photographic documentation. I grandchild or a detail such as long flowing strawberry blonde locks of hair. I am fascinated by the relationships they share, and the things they take for granted. I take photographs of my family.