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charityrachelle.com

charityrachellephoto@gmail.com

Header Image: “A Restaurant Run by Teens in a Town Overrun by Guns” - from a recent assignment for New York Times


I’m back in Alabama (oh land that I love) after a little bit of time in Paris and NYC. During one of my past lives as a fundamentalist Christian missionary I traveled all over Asia but never made it to any European countries. A new era begins! I was able to have a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants first experience and will return next fall for my group exhibition for a much longer stay with a more intentional itinerary.


My cohort and I landed straight into a whirlwind of workshops and project reviews, end-capped by attending Paris Photo at the stunning Grand Palais — the Disneyland of photography. If you look closely below you can see my shadowy figure sitting on the second floor being extremely overstimulated.  


Funding for my Paris residency was made  possible by a Creative Practice Grant from South Arts


On first-brush - blush? (I’m not googling it) I was impressed by how refreshing it felt to walk the streets of a city that exists within a culture that is not so… capitalistic as ours…? There was a general sense of contentment that I could feel in the air. People living their lives, staying in their metaphorical lanes, and seeming to prioritize late night socializing, romance, and the finer things in life much more than jobs or achievement. Generally, it felt like a “type B” city. If America is a petulant teenager, Europe feels like a wise elder quietly looking on from a distance, sighing with the resignation of the knowledge that it may take our society thousands more years to learn what truly matters in life, and in that moment coining the adage that “Rome wasn’t built in a day.”




Speaking of America…I worked on a bizarre and fascinating story for TIME about “Baby Boxes” that are being installed at small-town fire stations across Alabama. In the wake of women’s loss of abortion rights in Alabama as well as the myriad of other reproductive perils women face in this State, these “Baby Boxes” were created as a way for mothers in compromising situations to safely abandon their children, ensuring they will be almost instantly cared for by professionals. If anyone else wants to send me on assignments where I get meet dozens of firemen all day - you will not need to ask twice. Only downside being heart palpitations from… how strong firemen make their coffee and how hospitable they are in offering it at. every. stop.


EDITORS, ART DIRECTORS!!! Take a moment to check out Daybreak Directory. My friend and fellow photographer Rob Culpepper created a new website that serves as a database of photographers.  You can find us by searching by keyword, location, specialty, etc.


Footer image: a Christmas Ceremony  at the farm, from my ongoing photo series, The Promised Land


I am thrilled to be leaving 2025 behind me in just a couple of days. This year was far and above the hardest year of my entire life. My whole world fell apart about a seven times in a row and I became a pile of dust. I am so over it that I don’t even feel like mentioning  any of the “bright sides.”  From the outside looking in, you may be surprised to hear this, but that’s because, to quote a certain pop star:


I was grinning like I’m winning

I was hitting my marks

Cause I can do it with a broken heart


Happy  New Year INDEED.


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