Eight Years of Becoming Frontenac Photography: Happy Birthday to the reason I picked up a Camera

Before photography became my work, it became my way of holding on. Today my son turns eight, I don’t just see another year older. I see the very beginning of why I ever picked up a camera in the first place.

At just six days old, he faced open-heart surgery — a double bypass — before most babies have even opened their eyes to the world. Those early days taught me how fragile life is, and how fiercely beautiful it can be. I learned, very quickly, that moments are not guaranteed. They are borrowed. And they deserve to be held onto.

Photography became my way of doing that.

Today, that tiny, resilient baby is a confident, determined hockey goalie — standing tall in the net, reading plays, trusting himself. Watching him play, I still catch my breath sometimes. Not from fear anymore, but from pride.

He is kindness wrapped in curiosity.A gentle soul with a wild imagination.A Marvel-loving, Lego-building, STEM-engineer-in-training kind of kid who dreams big and thinks deeply.

He asks thoughtful questions. He builds worlds with his hands. He feels things fully.

And through him, I have learned everything.

I’ve learned patience.I’ve learned perspective.I’ve learned that strength doesn’t always look loud — sometimes it looks like quiet determination, showing up again and again.

I am endlessly blessed for the lessons he’s given me, for the way he’s shaped not only my life, but my work. Every story I photograph, every fleeting moment I preserve, is touched by the understanding he gave me so early on: that these moments matter more than anything.

Eight years of loving you.Eight years of gratitude.Eight years of remembering why I do what I do.

Happy birthday, my sweet boy. You are my greatest gift — and my greatest teacher.

xoxo

Mom (Cass)