Determined to prevent my father’s family history from forever being held captive, I visited my aunt and with a manual SLR, photographed many of her childhood photos. Following that first photo session, I visited other family members, copying their photos while listening to and documenting their stories.

Years later, we inherited large tubs of my father-in-law’s family photos and memorabilia. While I was honored to become the caretaker, I didn’t know where to start to bring contemporary meaning to things that have been saved and handed down for more than 100 years. But as I held one antique photo after another, I fell into the stories.

While gazing at an old photo it is as if a portal to another place and time opens and the lives of our ancestors begin to take shape. This experience ignited a passion for preserving the photos, documents, and stories that make up a family’s history.