What a beautiful post I get to make this evening. I do not know Brooke or why she was in Paris. I also do not know how for all the thousands of locks how she found your Lock Jill but she did. I remember vividly the pain we experienced that day standing on that bridge all 8 of us girls crying and paying tribute to Bart. There is your lock Jill being shared with people all over the world, just like you wanted. Thank you Brooke, today you filled my heart and soul with love and joy tonight. My deepest gratitude to you and the beautiful friend you lost. Sue Bryce

Dear Sue

One of the best ways I can think of to spend an afternoon in Paris involves a lot of sunshine, my best friend and many hours looking for Jill’s lock of love. We didn’t find it that first afternoon but it was amazing to be surrounded by so many expressions of love. That night as we were showing Vanessa’s husband Ray the Light that Shine video we realized Vanessa had actually come across the lock that afternoon. We couldn’t pass up an opportunity to go back and see it one more time.

Re-watching the video brought on so many emotions. Like most of us, cancer has touched the lives of some of my closest friends.

Thank you for telling Jill’s story; the story of so many women. I believe that one day no one will have to hear the words “you have cancer.”

May we all realize how beautiful we really are.
Thanks. Brooke McKenzie

Sometimes I go to share something and I feel a need to hold back, then I remember I once read if you never give away your knowledge you stay stuck. If you give it away you FORCE yourself to create more. So true but the question is. What is original, NOTHING. IT’S not yours anyway you don’t own a single thing. In fact as you create there are people all over the world thinking and creating something similar they are all thinking they have original thought. Nothing is original, nothing BELONGS to you. Create, share and then create more. You will be richer don’t hold/hoard/think you are the owner. You are a vessel. That’s the gift of a teacher, of a creator, of a photographer, of a service provider. Possession is limited. Giving is divine.

If you want to learn how I shoot, do it. Learn how I make my clients feel beautiful, do it, share it. I hold no ownership over sharing this gift. Focus on the gift you give your clients, not the fear that people think you are trying to be like me. I’ve spent my career trying to emulate the best. Herb, Annie, Mario but none of them taught me how to give or connect to another human and that’s the best part. I am a portrait photographer. I love what I do. No-one has been able to stop me from sharing that, being that. Making an income and becoming successful that was my hardest lesson, allowing that to flow. I deserve success. Not because I’m a ‘Good Photographer’ but because I’m a good person and I love what I do.

Focus on what YOU love and what YOU WANT, and less on what others say.