Somewhere under a Rainbow in Tucson…Award Winning Story Collection.

There are sessions that stay with you long after you pack up your cameras. This was one of them.

Collection 39 began on a day that didn’t look promising. Steady rain, dark clouds, and that familiar quiet worry that the weather might put a damper on everything. But real life doesn’t stop for perfect forecasts, and that’s the beauty of documentary family photography. You show up. You trust the day. You let the story unfold.

The rain turned into an invitation instead of a limitation. The kids ran outside, splashing through puddles and letting the rain soak their hair and clothes. They moved inside to warm hands and curious minds, baking pumpkin muffins that filled the kitchen with the smell of sugar and spice. Tables became art stations. Pumpkins turned into colorful, messy masterpieces. The house felt alive in the way only real life can feel.

Then came the moment none of us could have planned. The rain softened. The clouds broke. And a bright, full rainbow appeared across the sky. It felt like the sky was giving us a gift for trusting the process and embracing the mess, the noise, and the magic of the ordinary.

What made this session even more meaningful is that I photographed this couple’s wedding 18 years ago. Standing in their home all these years later, watching their children move through their spaces, hearing their laughter fill the rooms, felt like witnessing a story unfold across decades. This is why I do this work. These are not just photos. They are chapters of a life.

I am deeply honored that this collection received an Inspiration Family Award. Recognition like this means so much because it celebrates honesty. It celebrates families as they are, not as they perform. It celebrates the beauty that shows up when you let go of perfection and let real life lead the way.

Here’s the award the Collection won from Inspiration Family Photographers, an International organization.

Somewhere under that rainbow, this family gave me a reminder that the most powerful stories are never forced. They are lived, fully and freely, right in front of us.