A Photography Dream Come True

To see all my photos from the Purple Carpet, visit the full gallery.

"If there isn't a trail, blaze one..."

That's the line on the promo poster for Suffs The Musical, and that's exactly what the team at Suffs helped me do last week.

Since a very young age, I've been passionate about women's rights and I'm proud to call myself a feminist. I've also been interested in the suffrage movement for years because  I've always had a great respect for all the brave women who dedicated their lives to fighting for the vote. When I heard about Suffs the musical, I was instantly hooked. Suffs is a beautiful new musical about the suffragists that I've learned about-and parts of their stories that I hadn't- and their struggle for equality. The incredible Shaina Taub wrote the book and the music, and she is starring as Alice Paul. The more I learned about Shaina, the more I admired her. In addition to being a feminist and photographer, I'm also a writer, and an actress, like her. Shaina Taub has become a role model for me and I'm so grateful that she created this incredible musical.

Secretary Hillary Clinton and Nobel Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai are both producers for Suffs. I've admired Hillary Clinton since I was only four years old and learned about her incredible and diverse work for our nation, and I respect and admire Malala Yousafzai so much for her educational activism. Knowing these amazing women were part of this show only made me want to somehow be part of it even more. But I'm eleven, so I wasn't sure how I could be part of the magic that is Suffs. But when I thought of what I'm good at, I realized what I could do.

I decided that I wanted to ask if I could photograph the red carpet for opening night on April 18th. I reached out to their social media manager, Ms. Mia Weinberger, offered a bit about my background in photography, and explained that while I know that you don't usually see an eleven year old photographing a red carpet event, I really wanted to be part of telling this important story.  I even quoted the promo poster, "If there isn't a trail, blaze one." Mia connected me to two members of the press team, Ms.Marta Gryb and Ms. Nicole Suder. I requested a press pass, and after a week or so of hopefully and nervously awaiting their response, they said yes! I couldn't believe it, and I was so excited to get this incredible opportunity.

In preparation for this important event, I went to my local camera shop and bought a new camera for this event - a new Canon mirrorless R50. It's so lightweight and the quality of the photos is amazing! I also bought a Godox external flash because I didn't know what the lighting would be like. I've never used an external flash before, and it required a shoe adapter that my local camera shop thankfully had in stock,  but it was very simple and made my photos look brighter and more natural. The light and camera were both so easy to use and good quality. I brought my Canon DSLR with me as a backup, but I'm so glad that I got the new R50, especially leading up to this. I also took a few lessons with a family friend, Sarah Matheson, who is also a professional photojournalist. We Zoomed multiple times during the weeks leading up to this event, and I'm so grateful for her helpful advice. One of the assignments she gave me was to create a purple backdrop and take photos of my pets and parents in front of it. I got two yards of purple fabric and cut out white letters spelling Suffs to go on it. It was really helpful for me to figure out settings I needed to keep everything in focus as well as to balance light. I did this multiple times so that I could be as prepared as possible.

Before I knew it, it was Thursday and time for the carpet! I got ready and made sure that I had everything that I needed. I was so nervous! I had never shot a red carpet before and while I had prepared, I had no idea exactly what to expect. I could feel my stomach flipping as I walked to the Music Box Theatre, which is the home of Suffs. I arrived just before 4:00 p.m., which was my call time. The carpet was purple to match the backdrop, which I thought was so fun, and which honored the colors (Purple, gold, and white) of the suffrage movement. I was given a spot on one of the photography risers and there was even a sign with my name on it! I didn't know how the other photographers would react to having an eleven year old photographer with them but they were incredibly kind and welcoming. The two photographers I stood next to were Angela Orellana, who was the House photographer and took me under her wing for the evening, and Cindy Ord, who was taking photos for GettyImages and spent the night helping to ensure I had a great experience.Both were exceptionally supportive, and unbelievably talented. I couldn't have done this without their in-the-moment guidance and advice. I also got to meet Jenny Anderson, yet another role model of mine. Her photos are stunning, and I've been a fan for awhile. I had wondered if I'd get to see her on the carpet, but I wasn't expecting to get to actually talk with her! She was amazingly kind and getting to meet her was so much fun.

The first people to walk the purple carpet were the amazing cast and team. I've never seen so many beautiful women each radiating so much joy in one 10 foot space. It was breathtaking.This show has an uplifting and inclusive energy that was obvious watching the cast and team together. The more photos I took, the less nervous I became and the more fun I had. After the cast and much of the team, the theatre attendees walked the carpet. This included Lin-Manuel Miranda, Sara Bareilles, Anna Wintour, Rachel Brosnahan, Laura Benanti, Darren Criss, Ben Platt, Melissa McCarthy, and more! The interactions that I had with everyone were so much fun. I did Laura Benanti's early covid era online showcase, "Sunshine Stories", when I was little, and she actually talked to me and complimented me while she was on the purple carpet, which made me so happy. If I hadn't been on a crowded riser, I would have jumped up and down! Other people also waved and several complimented my outfit. Secretary Hillary Clinton and Malala Yousafzai also walked the carpet, and getting to stand so close to them and photograph them was an honor and an  amazing experience.

After the event, I got a chance to talk with the other photographers, who all immediately checked in with me to see how I felt. It was such a wonderful feeling to be surrounded by such supportive women. I also got to talk with Carolyn Deol, who was there on behalf of NBC Nightly News Kids. Carolyn, who founded a service organization rooted in women's history and called The Yellow Roses, was with the reporters instead of the photographers, but it was still so nice to get to meet someone my age on the carpet.

Walking off the purple carpet, I felt like I was on top of the world. I could barely believe that I had just photographed so many of my role models, as well as celebrities and a cast and team of beautiful, strong women. It was absolutely one of the best experiences of my life.

After the purple carpet, there was a short break before I went back to the theatre to photograph the curtain call, where the cast comes out to bow.I charged my camera and my flash, and returned to the theatre for curtain call. I got there about fifteen minutes before the end of the show. The press representative, Amy Jacobs, took me (and Carolyn) into the theatre to watch the last few numbers, which was so kind of her. As soon as the last song finished and the stage was dark, Amy took me down the aisle in the dark  to the edge of the stage. I set up my stool and turned on my camera. The cast came out and bowed while I photographed them, then Shaina Taub gave a short, but powerful, speech. It was so cool to get to be right next to the stage while the beautiful cast took their bows.

The next night, I got to see the show, which was outstanding and definitely one of the best shows I've ever seen. Everyone in the cast was so talented and the scenes and music were excellent. It was so inspiring to see these historical women be brought to life onstage by such dynamic and engaging actors. I can't wait for the cast album-which will be available June 14! The whole cast came out after the show and they were all so kind and generous at the stage door. This show is truly a brilliant masterpiece and I'm so grateful I got the chance to see it, especially after photographing the cast the night before.

This was a dream come true and an amazing experience. Everyone was so kind and helpful and it was such an honor to photograph so many wonderful people. It was magical from start to finish. Thank you to Shaina Taub, Secretary Hillary Clinton, Malala Yousafzai, and all of the incredible women photographers on the carpet with me. Thank you for being an inspiration and showing me that if you work hard and fight for what you believe in, you can achieve your dreams. And I hope that one day, I can be the one to blaze a trail for brave young girls everywhere.

I'm so grateful that I got to be a small part of telling the story of this extraordinary show led by extraordinary women.

My First Professional Photo Shoot.

I've always wanted to do a professional portrait shoot, but I thought that it would be years before I did. But I got a request a few months ago from a former teacher and family friend, Mackenzie. She asked if I wanted to do a photo shoot with her, her husband Andy, and their beautiful dog Rupp. Of course, I said yes!

We decided to do it at Ashland, The Henry Clay Estate, which is a small, pretty historical home and park that's perfect for a fall photo shoot. We did it in October so that we could get the leaves at their most vibrant colors.. The day of the shoot, it was rainy and dark. It was drizzling on our drive to Henry Clay, but as soon as we arrived, it stopped. I was still worried about the dark lighting, but thankfully it was no longer actively raining. I adjusted my settings so that my photos would be brighter, lowering my shutter speed and raising my ISO. We moved around the park, stopping at different areas for different poses. Mackenzie, Andy, and Rupp were great models. They were good sports and were willing to stand, kneel, and even sit in the wet leaves. I was worried that I wouldn't get any good shots, but I ended up sending Mackenzie 115 photos, and before I edited and weeded out the bad ones, I had 900!

I'm truly so honored that Mackenzie reached out to me, and I'm so grateful that I got to do my first professional photo shoot. It was such an incredible experience and it was wonderful to get to take photos of such a great family.

Hoofprints in the Sand

One of my favorite things to photograph is animals- all different kinds of animals. So, on a Thanksgiving trip to Emerald Isle with my family, when I heard about an island with dolphins and wild horses, I jumped at the chance to go. The island, called Bird Shoals Island, is part of the Rachel Carson Reserve. The Rachel Carson Reserve, named after the famous environmentalist, is part of the National Park Service. It is a protected area that has lots of species of wildlife and it is dedicated to conservation. Bird Shoals dolphins, birds, and it has a herd of forty wild horses! The Rachel Carson Reserve is near Beaufort, North Carolina, and Beaufort has ferries to the reserve. When we got onto the boat that would take us out, we saw dolphins! They were close to the boat and beautiful. I unfortunately didn't get photos of them, because I left my camera in my bag so that it wouldn't get wet. But seeing dolphins, even if I didn't get pictures of them, was really cool. From the boat, we did see a horse grazing on the back of Bird Shoals. It was so pretty!

When I got off the boat, I started walking along the three- mile beach, hoping to see horses. I saw a ton of sand dollars and I snapped a few shots of them. It was a beautiful, quiet beach, but there were no horses. I was almost back at the boat to leave when a gorgeous wild horse came trotting out on the beach. I immediately started snapping, and I took lots of photos of the beautiful horse. I boarded the ferry and continued to snap until I could barely see the horse. I'm so glad that I got to photograph this beautiful horse and it was an incredible experience.