the process of remembering: a photoblog by andrew huth

“Rachel B”

Okay so a long one—after all this photoblog is called The Process of Remembering for a reason.

Rachel B is sort of new to my group (now our group) of friends. Rachel married my brilliant brainiac Biology professor friend Paul. Quick side note about Paul—besides being one of the smartest scientists I personally know he is also only 1 of 3 people I know who have gone to and worked in Antarctica! Come to think of it, it’s kind of amazing that I actually have three close friends who have been to that continent considering that less than 1% of the world’s population has been there. I digress however. Okay so Rachel B…

So I had the opportunity to get to know Rachel a bit better on this trip. Surrounded by a sea of beautifully colored saris (one of which she was wearing) I watched Rachel’s equally bright colored eyes light up with life as I listen to her speak enthusiastically about her recent trip to Guatemala to visit her Compassion International sponsored child (now a man in med school—in no small part thanks to Paul and her). While listen to her words and observing her bodily language I started to get a clear sense as to perhaps one of the major reasons why my friend Paul was attracted to this woman.

I have to believe that her genuine compassion for the least of us and her commitment to living more simply so that others can simply live (a signature on all of her emails) had to rank near the top for reasons to pursue this woman with the kind of tenacity that only The Beast—don’t ask and Paul please don’t feel you need to explain this nickname of yours can unleash when confronted with a woman he desires to know more about. Sure, no doubt her smarts, southern charm and matching looks, adventuresome spirit, humor and quirkiness (in the best sense) all played a role in him eventually falling head over heels (for a lack of a better phrase) for this woman. However, I have to think that those reasons were all secondary to her obvious love for those the world would like to sweep away and forget about more often than we might like to admit.

In hindsight this fact should not have come as a surprise to me considering how I first found out about Rachel. When Paul and I first seriously talked about his relationship with Rachel it was near the time when we were all getting ready for our friend’s annual extended vacation together. When asked if we would get to meet her he told us, no, because she would be in Kazakhstan. My first thought was, dude is this woman even real—kidding Paul . Later on I learned she was there living the good news of Christ’s love for all peoples of the world. I also learned over the next couple of months that her whole family (I believe of four) once intentionally lived on a food budget of something like $25 a month to be better stewards of their resources. Clearly, her email tagline is more than merely that, but rather a way of life.

Paul my man, I’m happy Rachel’s love reached not only halfway around the world to Eurasia, but also right into the very fabric of your heart (and over time perhaps into our friend’s hearts as well). Rachel, I confidently speak for my friends when I say that we are very much looking forward to getting to know you better over the years!

Last thought (for people who are interested on my thinking as a photographer):

Often when I photograph people I learn something about them during and after I make my images. I was struck by how easy Rachel appeared to be in this photo as I was pointing my camera at her (it was a bit surprising to me since for the most part she and I really didn’t know each other all that well).

Sure, this picture convoys her warmth, but I think the process of me taking this picture of her says something about her comfortableness with herself and also with her body. A woman that perhaps has learned to fight off the influences of a prevailing message in our society that conditions women and teen girls (more so these days young boys fall into this category) to loath their bodies. Women and girls in particular are consistently visually encouraged in our society and beyond to not view and hold themselves as valuable and beautiful as they were made. In such a culture, it is always refreshing and encouraging to see people feel confident with who they are and perhaps who they are not or should not be or aspire to be. Rachel, I hope these impressions of you are correct and if so, I hope you never stop being this way.

This past weekend my good friend Charles married Sherry (who is quickly becoming a beloved friend) and so a bunch of my dearest friends and I traveled (from the country of Greece to the state of Georgia) to share in this big moment in our dear friend’s life. I didn’t take many photos because I was well…too busy gabbing and soaking in these kindred spirits! However, I did document a little bit of our time together here and there so without further adieu here are some visual snippets of my time this past weekend.