Some experiences do more than inspire you. They confirm that every sacrifice, every moment of doubt, and every time you kept creating when nobody was watching was preparing you for a room you had not entered yet. #SonyKandoTrip2026 was that confirmation for me. Micheala opened our first dinner by telling us we were some of the best photographers and videographers in the world. Those words stayed with me because I was surrounded by greatness, yet reminded that my own perspective and journey belonged in that room too. Every time I told someone I was from New Orleans, their face lit up. They spoke about our culture, resilience, music, food, and soul. It reminded me why I photograph the way I do. New Orleans taught me to recognize beauty and pain existing in the same frame, to find light inside darkness, and to preserve moments because everything can change overnight. My city did not simply raise me. It gave me my eye. For my first year, of course I used my camera, but I intentionally ch...