Photo taken by contributor Shelby Hall, a 22-year-old mother from Dallas, Texas. Before her boys were born, she had a difficult relationship with her now fiancé, in part due to his struggles with drug addiction. She suffered from depression through much of their early relationship as a result of being unable to cope. Loving someone with addiction can feel hopeless at times. She felt lost and unsure about who she was, and who she was trying to be. During that rough time in her life she found herself comforted and consoled by her photography. Shelby’s fiancé is now two years sober, and they are wonderfully happy parents. She loves having her photos to look back on. They read like a timeline and you can see the progressions and pitfalls through them all. They also serve as a reminder of how much stronger she and her fiancé are today.

About this photo: “I LOVE MOTION! Maybe it’s just me but I feel like motion is one of the most beautiful things to capture. The one fact we all know to be true in photography is that they are stills. They are frozen moments. When done right, motion can change the whole concept of a photo. For me it best shows my “whirlwind” emotions. Those moments when there is just SO MUCH that you can’t even address it all. When you feel like everything inside of you is at war with something. I have taken MANY photos like this one. In them my thoughts are usually the same. I feel like I have so many stressors that all I can really do is sit back and let them win, because I can’t fight them all. So I may seem “still” but these photos are meant to express what I really feel like.”

Find more from Shelby at her blog.

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