If you’ve been following this blog for a while — or if you know me on Facebook — you know that I’m an avid nature photographer. I make it a habit to get outside every day and take photos of whatever is growing or changing around me. Sometimes people compliment the beauty of the images, and I always laugh and say, “Well, I can’t take much credit for that. It’s just beautiful subject matter.” And that’s true.
But then they’ll add, “It’s not just that. You’ve got an eye for this.” That means a lot to me.
Recently, my Mom said the same thing — but she added something.
“You know you get this from your Dad,” she said.
I sat with that for a moment. And the more I thought about it, the more deeply it touched me. Of course I get this from him. My Dad was an amateur photographer too, especially when I was very young, and he took so many photos of nature. Somehow, I had never connected that thread myself.
I can be honest here: My relationship with my Dad was often conflicted. He died years ago, and those layers of complexity remain part of my story. But hearing my Mom say that — realizing that this way of noticing beauty, of slowing down, and paying attention through a lens is something he gave me — feels like a small bridge stretching across time.
This practice that brings me meaning, connection, and grounding, and I realize that every single day carries a strand of him in it. A redemptive one. Sometimes, when I focus and take a photo, I realize he’s part of that frame too.
Thanks, Dad.
—Renee Roederer
Smuggling Grace 