An unexpected death in our family brought many of us together recently...we were sad and bewildered at all that we had to deal with, yet among the difficult challenges, we were able to be close again for a short time.  This image is of my sister Denise and was taken at the recent gathering we had for our lost family member.  It's rare that she will let me take her picture, so you can imagine how elated i was when she agreed to do an impromptu little shoot while we visited our hometown in Arizona.  I love this picture because the light is so luminous upon her hair, the rough desert textures look soft and gentle and it truly is the most delicate image I have of my little sister to this day.

I do miss the open spaciousness of desert, but I definitely don't miss the heat.