Firework display from the top of the Sky Tower to welcome the New Year on January 1, 2015 in Auckland, New Zealand. (Photo by Dave Rowland/Getty Images)
A feminist activist uses a slingshot during a protest against gender violence and patriarchy in Santiago on November 29, 2019. Furious Chileans have since October 18 been protesting social and economic inequality, and against an entrenched political elite that comes from a small number of the wealthiest families in the country, among other issues. (Photo by Javier Torres/AFP Photo)
Participants in fancy costumes take part in march during the Prague Pride parade in downtown Prague, Czech Republic, 10 August 2019. Several thousands of people attended the 9th Prague Pride to support the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) communities. (Photo by Martin Divisek/EPA/EFE/Rex Features/Shutterstock)
Australian actor Chris Hemsworth (L) and Spanish model Elsa Pataky (R) attend the Governors Ball during the 96th Annual Academy Awards at Dolby Theatre on March 10, 2024 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images)
A worker pulls one of her colleagues on a sled, normally used to transport boxes, in the finish area of the alpine ski venue at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Wednesday, February 16, 2022, in the Yanqing district of Beijing. (Photo by Robert F. Bukaty/AP Photo)
A woman wearing a face mask rides a bicycle with a child, following an outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Wuhan, Hubei province, China on February 8, 2021. (Photo by Aly Song/Reuters)
I am 17 years old and an aspiring photographer. Ever since I set my hands on a camera, I knew I had unlocked a new dimension. One where you can expand your imagination and run for endless miles. Photography makes you look at things differently. You notice rain drops and the way the sun kisses the Earth. You breath in every moment of your life. You love to live and live to love. There is no time to waste because there is an urgency to capture each loving gesture, smile, and laugh in both humans and animals. Then every photograph becomes timeless and you smile, knowing that you hold a few split seconds in your hands. I live in a box called a camera with the lens as my window and everyday I sit on my couch watching the world outside through a different perspective. No worries, my dogs are right beside me looking at it the same way.
I am traveling to sanctuaries across the country to photograph animals that are elderly or at the end stage of their lives. I began this series shortly after I had spent a year in New Jersey helping my sister care for my mother who has Alzheimer’s disease. When mom got sick, I made a conscious decision not to photograph her. But, caring for her had a profound impact on me and I knew the experience would influence my photography. ...