Childhood & Family Photography

Before photography became a profession, it was simply a way of paying closer attention.

While working in New York, Laurie Rhodes began taking evening photography classes in Greenwich Village and wandering the city with a Nikon film camera loaded with Kodak Tri-X black-and-white film. Her teacher was especially drawn to the candid, documentary-style images she made of people and everyday moments.

One summer in a rustic Fire Island cottage, a friend bathed her young daughter in the kitchen sink. As the child splashed and laughed beneath the running water, Laurie instinctively reached for her camera and captured a fleeting moment of joy and spontaneity.

The photograph went on to win recognition in competitions, but more importantly, it changed the direction of her life.

A print hung in Laurie’s apartment hallway for years. Again and again, friends stopped in front of it and told her the same thing: You should be doing this.

Eventually, she did.