As a believer of the psychosocial benefits of practicing gratitude, I shot a photo series called the #gratitudeportraitproject. Immediately before pressing the shutter release, I asked the human on the other side of the camera one question, "What are you grateful for at this very moment?"

Shooting my first rolls of film in adulthood was a journey laced with hope and uncertainty and a peaceful acceptance of potential failure. I feared that everything would turn out black, so I'm relieved to report that though there are many blurry, underexposed images (ya live and ya learn), there are also photographs that I'm elated about.

Thanks to the familiar and foreign faces that shared in this experiment with me. xo