By the Lakeside

As much as we'd like to, we can never truly forget or ignore the past.

I shot these pictures last summer on 35mm film— the delay of waiting for rolls to develop only added to the drawl of endless summer days. These pictures all include symbols I hold close to my heart: Mourning doves, whose calls I would listen to in early summer mornings as a kid. Balloons beside a park table, reminiscent of past birthday parties and years of growing up. And sunflowers, a symbol of my own growth and nostalgia as summer rolls around each year. You can miss memories until it hurts, but you can also find comfort reminiscing and returning to them. The past shapes us, grounds us, and makes up our present self. There's no harm in being sentimental.