One winter night I was just a few steps away from curling up in my little Italian apartment with a good book, when a small voice in my heart telling me to take out my camera and turn down an alleyway, interrupted my plans.
*I'm a summer kind of gal so this wasn't on my preferred agenda, but every time I headed for my apartment I couldn't shake it. 
Reluctantly, I dug my camera out of my backpack with frozen fingers and retraced my steps through the dark turning down the road.

Emerging from the shadows just as I turned down the dimly lit alley was a woman about 65 years old. She trudged toward me as if every step demanded concentrated effort, eyes trained on the cobblestones, brows furrow and fists clenched. 
We were the only ones on the street and I knew I'd come for her. 
My heart sped up as I waved nervously.  

"Ciao, Tu Bella!" I said.  
"You're beautiful. May I take your photo?"
Slowing, the woman first looked around, then raised her eyes to meet my gaze.  
"Me?" She asked softly, finger pointing to her chest. She paused, "Bella?" 
She was. 
Smiling, I nodded. Without another word she stopped in front of me. When she lifted her eyes again, they were full of tears, and she slowly pulled her shoulders back, and smiled. 
"Grazie," I whispered.
Clicking the shutter twice- I captured two shaky frames, and she continued down the street, whispering,
"Me, Bella," to herself as she walked away.

Despite the language barrier, the freezing cold, and the fact we were total strangers on the street in the dark- she walked away whispering to herself the truth, "me, bella." 

That was it for me.  

People ask why I got into photography. It's because after she left, I stood on that street in awe of how it felt to watch truth impact a heart, and document it. There's something powerful that happens when we feel like ourselves- not just the best version of ourselves but the depth, the weight and the breadth of who we were created to be. 

Before I got back to my apartment that night I decided I'd start a photography company. For the past 10 years I watched this moment of "that's me!?" "I didn't know I could love photos of myself this much" and "I didn't know I could feel this beautiful." happen again and again in weddings, portraits and with strangers all over the world.  

xoxo, Kristine