Elizabeth

Some of my favorite digital shots of Elizabeth’s senior portraits.

It was a pretty heavy day to be so close to downtown Portland. We ended up being only a quarter mile away and 30 minutes removed from a deadly altercation between BLM protestors and a pro-Trump caravan “rally” in the southwestern blocks. We spotted a few of the Trump supporters on the east side of the Burnside bridge - clearly trying to exert their perceived supremacy just by virtue of their presence - but we made sure to keep a safe distance from the actual chaos downtown.

It was a bit bizarre to experience such a dichotomy of moments…a beautiful senior portrait session which is meant to celebrate optimistic promises of the future, at the same time that escalating violence is threatening our actual way of life only a bridge away. I wish it felt possible to skip the latter in order to secure a future of peace, equality, and justice, but it seems like the events of August 29th, 2020 foreshadow things getting worse before they get better.

I have no doubt things will get better. Elizabeth’s generation is surely going to be bold and courageous after enduring so much in their earlier years (entering an uncertain school experience, witnessing civil unrest and increasing tribalism, adjusting social and emotional habits amid a global pandemic, seeing the dangers of global warming materialize…the list goes on). Unfortunately we all have to face this pivotal era in the meantime. And we not only have to fight our oppressors and adversaries, but the disillusionment of living out the ordeal.

Don’t lose sight of the beautiful future ahead of us. Progress always wins, and love is stronger than fear.