On January 11, 2024, my twin brother, Miles, became a father. The welcoming of my nephew into the world led me to thinking about identity, preservation, and the circle of life. As I watched my brother approach new milestones without me, I couldn’t help but feel disconnected from him. For the first time in our lives, we were maturing at different rates. After this realization, I became interested in the differing rates of change in life. In just one year, my nephew will go from being unable to hold his head up to taking his first steps. In the same year, my grandmother will turn ninety-six years old, but her agility will decline.

My project 1,251 Miles is a book about life and death in nature and within my own family. Over the span of one year I photographed the landscape around my childhood home in Arkansas as it changed with the seasons, as well as documented the growth of my nephew. As the project developed, it also became a way for me to stay connected to my family from far away and preserve them in this moment of time.