background

celeste and i worked together in advertising. we sat where we could both turn around and have a conversation. usually those conversations had to do with what random lunch she brought, or my out of control desk, sometimes we talked about work. often she would shake her head at me and say "we're so different".

i learned quickly that celeste is a person you want in your corner. she's so smart, the tasks that would frustrate me seemed to energize her. she became my friend quickly, and even though we are so different i appreciate who she is. our beliefs might not match up all the time, but i think we have more in common than we even realize.

when we worked together we had to present ideas to some pretty intimating people, that knew the history of Colgate backwards and forwards. we learned the value of background. we might not have been around when a campaign launched years prior, but we needed to know about it. that's a little how i felt with this photo shoot.

i had not met celeste's family. they were an idea. her mom sent care packages to her cats, her dad farmed land, and neil tortured her as a child. but meeting them, collectively, pulled celeste into perspective for me. she's a piece of all of them. she's got her dads dry humor but her moms warmth. watching her mom share a story i laughed at the way she used her hands the way i've seen a hundred times.

background, sometimes we try to forget, but it makes it easier for others to understand.