The Magic of Experience Camps 2025: A Photographer’s Point of View

This past week in Connecticut, I had the privilege of photographing Experience Camps — a place where children who’ve lost someone they love come together, play, and feel understood.

What struck me most wasn’t just the activities or the energy of camp, but how quickly death and grief, two of the heaviest things a kid can carry, brought a group of mostly strangers together for the same cause. And then, through belly laughs, tears, and quiet moments of empathy, we left as friends.

Volunteering as the photographer on the boys’ side, I honestly wasn’t sure how they’d react to some guy with a camera showing up in their space. My only goal was to create fun, genuine images that would let them relive these moments long after camp was over. After 122,917 steps, countless games, and more smiles than I could count, I think I did just that. On the very last day, a camper even told me he wants to come back one day as a photographer. Yeah… that one hit me right in the heart.

I’m so grateful for the magic of Experience Camps, for the friendships made, and for the reminder that photos are more than images. They’re little anchors to the moments that shape us.

Here are a few of my favorites from CONNEX 2025.

Until next year. (Though, who knows… maybe not from behind the camera this time.)