11/29/2025
I've thought of a thousand ways to caption this session, and none of them ever felt quite big enough for what it meant. I've photographed the Nash family for over a decade, and in that time, they've become so much more than customers- they have become people that I genuinely cherish. Last fall, they experienced an unimaginable loss when Cody, someone deeply loved and an incredibly skilled medic with Survival Flight, passed away. This was our first session without him physically present, and I knew it would be emotional in ways that are hard to put into words. At the end of our session, Allison and the kids quietly gathered the shirts they had brought that read "You Are Enough" and asked to include Cody in their family portraits. They held close in the way they carry him now, with tenderness and strength. As we wrapped up the portraits with their family complete, including Cody, I asked for just one more image. And in that exact moment, as we were loading up the car, we heard the soft unmistakable sound of helicopter blades. We all looked up, and there above us, visible at the top of the sky in the last image in their album, was Survival Flight passing directly above their heads. I've photographed at this location for years and have not once seen them fly over until that moment. I went into this session thinking these would be our first family photos without Cody, but standing there watching that helicopter drift across, I knew without a doubt, his spirit was there with his family and loved in every frame. I was reminded of the message they wore so intentionally: You are enough. You always were. You always will be.
