Freezing Time: A Photographic Exploration of Montpelier

​As an artist and photographer, I have learned to use the camera as a study tool. I can perceive something, whether it's a vast cityscape or the tiniest detail within it. I am captivated by these sights. I need to freeze them, to arrest the moment. I want to halt its progression and isolate it from the relentless flow of time. It's like holding a glass cube, orb, or marble that I can examine repeatedly, a timeless object of curiosity on my mental shelf.

Other times, I rely on my camera as a security blanket. It emboldens me, sparks my creativity, and diminishes my fears.

On this particular day, we visited Montpelier, Vermont. My husband took me to all his favorite spots from his adolescence: streets, bridges, rivers, and coffee shops.

I share all this to expose my vulnerability. I adore my husband and was excited to explore one of his beloved towns, a place that significantly shaped his identity. When we first met, he would regale me and our friends with enchanting tales of Vermont and its people. It was a different world, a place where people cared for one another, looked out for each other through harsh winters, and did it all out of love for their community. The stories of Vermont and the concept of neighborliness held a meaning I couldn't fully grasp, but I wanted to understand.

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​I share all this to expose my vulnerability. I adore my husband and was excited to explore one of his beloved towns, a place that significantly shaped his identity. When we first met, he would regale me and our friends with enchanting tales of Vermont and its people. It was a different world, a place where people cared for one another, looked out for each other through harsh winters, and did it all out of love for their community. The stories of Vermont and the concept of neighborliness held a meaning I couldn't fully grasp, but I wanted to understand.

​I find this goodness and kindness both inspiring and intimidating. As I walked the streets of Vermont, I felt challenged to cultivate my own compassionate nature. I was surrounded by everyday heroes, a town where individuality was celebrated and judged by no one and cared by all. It was a place where people had endured long, cold winters and found ways to make life enjoyable.