Tall Oaks

Tall Oaks From Little Acorns Grow is a meditation on wonder, rooted in the ancient presence of the 300-year-old Southern oak trees that rise behind our Northern Virginia home. These trees, steadfast and enduring, became both backdrop and metaphor for the unfolding story of my son’s childhood. What began as afternoons spent exploring the backyard together grew into a long-term photographic project, one that continues to evolve as he does.

Through a blend of environmental portraiture and natural elements, the work reflects the rhythms of discovery, play, and connection. Each image is both a document and a dream, an intimate record of camping under the canopy of our own oaks, shaped by experiments with light and texture, and by quiet observations of small hands at play. Weaving together personal and universal threads, the photographs explore the joy of childhood, the tenderness of parenthood, and the grounding presence of the natural world.

This body of work, begun when my son was just two years old, remains a perpetual labor of love, an ongoing collaboration between mother, child, and the land we inhabit. Selections from Tall Oaks From Little Acorns Grow were honored with the Professional Series in Storytelling at the 21st Julia Margaret Cameron Award for Women Photographers, a recognition that affirms the enduring power of small stories to reach beyond their roots and resonate widely.