This is, from left to right, my great grandmother Claudia Caron, her sister Anna Caron, and their mother Margaret (Morin) Caron. I’ve always been fascinated by my great grandmother in part because I see parts of my face and appearance in her, such as her eyebrows and chin and hairline. Genetics are fun!

Claudia lived an interesting life.

Probably unsurprisingly, there’s overlap between photography and genealogy. My interest in different photographic methods means I can identify different types of film and photos and use them to date photos (my interest in historical fashion is also helpful here). I’m also the person at family gatherings who is most likely to be taking photos and pulling out old family albums to talk about who’s who. Even as a kid, I loved getting out old photos and asking questions about people I didn’t know or moments I wasn’t around for. In many ways, photography and genealogy have always been intertwined for me.