O is for the other things she gave me
T is for the Tons of things she gave me
H is for HOW many things she gave me
E is for EVERYTHING she gave me
R is for the REST of the things she gave me….
Put them all together and that spells……… mother.

[photopress:37_tulips_beautiful_flowers_desktopwallpaper_l.jpg,full,centered]Her Favorite flowers were Tulips, which was a good thing since she was born in Holland.

We all have folks that influence us in our life. Sometimes it’s a mentor, sometimes it’s a person that has achieved a certain level of skill within that subject. And sometimes it’s a person who just lays out a right path for you.

This is a special post to celebrate someone who meant the world to me in my pursuit of a photographic life since I was a boy.
My Mom.
She didn’t know much about photography, but she did know about what was important in life.

Growing up, I always had a camera in my hands and looked around in my world to find subjects. Or see subjects. People from my childhood still remember me with a camera in my hands all of the time.

One thing that my mother always did was to encourage me to do what made me happy.
Not for the money, for the heart.
She was even kind enough to be a subject when my style as a youngster went a bit abstract, becoming the shape underneath a blanket holding a candleabra.
I know, bizarre. Even if you can picture it in your mind.
I have no idea what the picture meant at this moment, and perhaps not even then.
But mom was a great sport and played along. And supported a mantra to not worry about the financial, but keep feeding the things that brought you joy. She knew that making these photographs was giving me all that.
Dough wasn’t the deal. Even if you were flipping burgers, as long as that was what you loved, it was all good. Great life lesson.
I just happened to love photography.

Now, as many photographers have done before, I’ve been photographing her through the years and through her recent illness. But the photos are a private thing right now. I know Richard Avedon photographed his father at his end of life and Annie Leibowitz made images of her great friend and partner Susan Sontag through life and death. And both of them exhibited these images to the public.

Last night mom passed away.

I’m not ready to share these images with you today.

This is not meant as a sad post but a place to honor and celebrate her.
And to encourage you to let people in your life know that you honor them too.

The only donation we ask you to make, is to your own life and that of your loved ones.

You’ll be happy you made the contribution.

Aloha, Mom.