Anne Miller: A Lasting Legacy

A week of giving thanks. Giving thanks for our family, friends, and the most beautiful connections in our lives, the endless gifts and multiple blessings. Grateful for quiet moments like this image that leave me feeling whole and appreciative for all the incredible families who have welcomed me into their lives. I’m honored to share in this ride together and capture life as your family evolves and changes, in all its seasons, in all its forms. Family matters most.

Today I’m heading down to Southern Connecticut to say my last goodbyes to the home my grandfather, Enrico “Rex” Joseph built with his own two hands in 1951. A home that my father, uncles, and aunts grew up in, a home my siblings, cousins, and I would visit and play. Beautiful memories that make me tear up as I’m writing this very sentence. Growing up, Thanksgiving was spent at my grandparents’ home, eating delicious food my grandmother would prepare from scratch. The table filled with treats and extended into the living room to fit our growing Italian family. It’s with mixed emotions that we all say our final goodbyes to an era gone by.

The memories I have of my grandfather around the holidays were ones of him with his video camera and huge aluminum light that he would walk around the house and blind us with, tripping over the extension cord. I was the kid who always posed and acted overly dramatic when being filmed. “Grandpa, look at my dress”, making faces and being obnoxious, haha. As my family has been cleaning out my grandparents’ home, my father has brought me some old camera equipment, in pristine condition. It’s been my reminder throughout the years as I continue to create a future of my dreams. I love thinking about my grandfather and his passion for documenting and preserving our family history.

This is what inspires me when a family steps in front of my camera. It’s a powerful feeling I get every. single. time. It’s with great pride that these timeless memories are being preserved for the years ahead. Memories for you, for your own children someday, for your children’s’ children, for your family to look back on, to remember and laugh. It’s deep within my soul that I step head first into these moments with you to create lasting memories, a legacy to live in hearts forever.