One winter night I was a few steps away from curling up with sweats and a good book in my little Italian apartment,
when a small voice in my heart told me to take out my camera and turn down an alleyway.
I'm not really a "meander down dark alleys at night for funzies" kind of gal, but I couldn't shake it. 
Sighing, I pulled my camera out of my backpack with frozen fingers and retraced my steps in the dark.

Just as I turned down the dimly lit alley, woman about 65 years old emerged from the shadows. 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 my heart sped up.

"Ciao, Tu Bella!" I said waving nervously.  "May I take your photo?"

Slowing, the woman first looked around, then meet my gaze.  
"Me?" She asked softly, finger pointing to her chest.  "...Bella?" 
Smiling, I nodded "Si!"

She looked down, then she lifting her eyes again, they were full of tears. Stopping in front of me, she pulled her shoulders back, and smiled just long enough for me to capture two shaky frames.  "Grazie." 

She nodded and continued walking, whispering
"Me, Bella," to herself on her way.

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