Who I Am

I’m Cheyenne and this is Chase. We fell hard for one another over a decade ago and have been finding ways to hang out as much as possible ever since. He became a photographer so I wouldn’t travel alone. he supports everyone in his life that intensely and I love him for it. We, along with our daughter, live in a tiny historic home on the gulf coast of FL where we tend to our many plants and order too much take out — and on clear nights we race to watch the sunset.

I began taking photos as a small act of love. my sister asked me to and well, that was enough. she was pregnant with my nephew and I had gifted her a photo session to remember it all by. One day she called me and said she didn’t want to do it. That she was grateful and really wanted the photos — but that she felt too nervous about having someone she didn’t know and trust taking them of her. Then… “will you take them?”.

I was living out of state at the time and oh, I had never used a camera before. But I said yes. I bought the plane ticket, my family went in on a beginner dslr camera, I practiced not nearly enough, and I took her photos.

I loved it.

I loved knowing that every time I clicked the shutter I was pausing my own life.
it felt really big and really small at the same time.

I loved it because I know my sister. I know how badly she wanted to remember that time of her life through photographs, and I know how close she was to not taking the photo because of anxiety and discomfort. I know how much it meant for her to feel taken care of and seen and safe that day.

I learned then that photography is about trust more than anything.

I think about it all the time:
this family, this person, this couple — I’m the one they chose to be here with them.
They chose me to help them remember it all.
Here we are.

Let’s hit pause together: