In the recent times of mourning, my heart was lifted many times by golden messages of true support. The reminder of “losing family and gaining family” was a constant throughout the last few weeks, thank you to everyone for reaching out.

These weeks have also carried reminders of why I have the passions I have.

In the midst of remembrance I was interviewed on The ArCast, where I touched on my experiences with tracking back my ancestry. The first image below, was one of those handful of captures that I came across online that no one in the family had ever seen. Captured moments, digitized on a public archive. Years later, we’d come across the same image in a stack of papers while I was visiting back home. The beginnings of me digitizing our family archives was to bloom.

As I age there is more of my archive filled with those who are no longer with us from my own family archives to the social justice archives of my Los Angeles family. I also, will not live forever. When I look back at precious images of my cousin’s children and grand children or my friends’ children who have grown…those timeless moments we’ll never get back…those are examples of captures that need preserved for generations. We’re a long way from paper trails of ledgers and census records, now with digital moves towards decentralized communities and token gated access, there is a way to preserve these moments while maintaining our “rights” outside of “I Agree.”

It is hard for me to imagine how many “timeless” captures have been lost throughout history. Maybe it’s in my lineage to document human narratives, but as in the ledger books left in our family from the century past, I aim to preserve the connections I’ve made in life through my lens. For future generations to see the lights that made up these communities, whether family history, hometown history or community organizing.

When I started the journey of ancestry seeking, I didn’t know the way besides Ancestry.com and I had no knowledge that digital archiving was even an occupation. While much of my life has been photography, much of my life has also been “staying present.” A practice in detachment and going with the flow, quite funny while documenting the moments for the future. Though, even without knowing which way I “needed” to go, I’ve still found a path with support and true intention along the way. That alone gives me light to know, this can be the way. Only time will tell, just as only aging through time lead me to archiving beyond a family tree. Those little steps in each of those new beginnings, lead me to big jumps in my creative voice and my understanding of time as a tool. We can’t force experience, but we can stay present as we experience experience and listen to the pieces as they all come together in time and light.

Thank you all for being here in the new “beginning.” Keep capturing and preserving your moments.