This week, I’m sharing my conversation with Michelle Gardella. I was introduced to Michelle’s work in Click magazine. The article was about her River Stories which are beautiful, mostly black and white photos, of people in rivers.  I saw Michelle taught a course through the Define School on black and white photography. I wanted to do a show focusing on black and white photos and got in touch with Michelle. A black and white photography show may be in the future, but this conversation followed a different route.

We started our conversation talking about how Michelle came to love rivers, the first time she experienced photographing a woman in a river and how she was drawn to doing more photos of people in the water. Michelle talks about how her work making these photographs is healing for her, for her subjects and for people all over the world who view the photos. She travelled the country telling more stories and gathered the photos and her writing about them in a book. Michelle has a special announcement about her book in the show.

Besides being an accomplished photographer, author and teacher, Michelle is a mother, she makes pottery every day and she feels strongly that she has a responsibility to not just tell the perfected story of her life but tell about her life honestly – warts and all. In that spirit, this interview is being shared with you as it happened without the rough edges smoothed. The show you’re used to hearing is mostly how it happened but when I can’t hear a guest or a child comes in the room to screaming, my wonderful editor, Russell, cuts that out so you can get to the good stuff. Not this time. I asked him to leave it as it happened.

More about Michelle: Website, Instagram, Facebook

Find Jenny on Flickr, Facebook, Instagram

I’m doing a daily photo project. You can see my project and the 365 projects of other TWiP Family listeners in theTWiP Family 365 Project 2016 group on Flickr. It’s not too late to start a project. Join us.Do you have a family photography question? A guest suggestion or topic you’d like to hear about on this family photography podcast? Use the Contact Us button to send me an email. Or contact me on the TWiP Family Facebook page and join the TWiP Family Facebook group.