Memory is a way of holding onto the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose.

~From the television show The Wonder Years

My boys: Jeanine Thurston

It is hardly ever more apparent that memories are so important – than the moment you bring a child into the world, fall in love or lose a loved one.  Each person, place, thing that we love makes us who we are and guides us to make choices on where we will go in life.  Photographing love & life… or maybe it is photographing the Love of Life is what has made me notice the little things that make each of us who we are.  Because the older we get the faster time seems to pass; our lives can become so busy that we loose some of those precious memories that brought us to where we are today.  Images allow us a joyful recollection of past events – and take us to places we once were, back to feelings we once had, and are a gateway to what brought us to where we are today.  It isn’t just people… it is expressions, giggles, smiles, pouty lips & tears, it is creations of our work anywhere from building, to art or even cooking – and encompasses a lifelong journey.  These memories are not only precious to us in preserving some of the footprints of our path, but are a joyful way to share our past with our future.  Our children, grandchildren and generations to come can learn from our beaten path.  Learning how we once once lived, and who and what we loved helps them in their journey to their future.

It is way beyond a picture on a piece of paper – it is about melding the past & present, gaping  generations, healing old wounds, and shedding tears in memory of the love and life we have had, and sharing with everyone.

I remember my first dog, going to school, blowing bubbles, my grandma’s smile, the smell outside after a spring rain, photographing my first wedding, my wedding day, my home growing up…. and yet, the visuals of people’s faces, expressions can be faded at times.  I have an image of my son’s tiny feet with my husband kissing them, and one of me snuggling my 1st son, and although I remember it happening – there is nothing like looking at that image and actually feeling that same feeling, as if it was just yesterday.

– Jeanine Thurston

Photographer: Jeanine Thurston