As a good friend of Nancy's, over the years I have seen many beautiful, emotionally charged photographs that she has taken of families in their happiest and saddest moments. But it wasn't until she photographed me and my mom that I truly appreciated her unique gift for drawing out the essence of a relationship between two people and capturing it on film.

As the shutter snapped Nancy encouraged my mom and I to talk about what we admired about each other, and what our most meaningful memories together were. I can't ever remember a time when we spoke so openly.

Sitting here looking at the photograph on my desk the power of that moment floods back and I see the way my mom looked at me when she spoke. Although it has been a year now since that day it still brings tears to my eyes. Nancy created the space for our emotional reconnection, and her photographs help me remember in a way that I draw strength from.

Alissa Johnson

Nancy has an extraordinary gift to find joy and grace in the small, everyday events that make up a life. Her photographs are timeless in their ability to capture the essence of a moment. Her deep respect for young and old comes through in every frame. Cheryl Scott

Nancy has an immense capacity to meet people where they are. When they are with her, people open up easily and are (to their surprise), able to express their deepest and most spiritual selves. Very often through Nancy's work, her subjects are startled to see themselves reflected back in such a deep and personal way. Nancy's portraiture is intimate in the very best sense of the word—she is able to create a place or moment for those deep connections and step out of the way. In doing this, she reveals the best connections between people in their most important relationships: mother and babies, partners, children and their parents, friends...

She often appears to be listening to some transcendent and intangible force—and then she makes a picture that captures that. Her photography speaks for itself and will enable you to better understand the process! Her encounters with her clients and friends are positive experiences that go far beyond her work.

Tessa Keating Rothrock
Seattle, WA

I am delighted to have Nancy as both my family's photographer and a friend. From day one I have marveled at her talent behind the lens but even more than that, the magic that happens well before any pictures are taken. Her ability to quickly connect with people and to create an intimate environment has always left me a bit spell bound. I have witnessed Nancy's approach many times and I have asked her on more than one occasion “how do you do that?” I always get the same genuine response, “I really love what I do and feel a purpose in it”. These words have resonated in me and from them I have learned that when passion meets purpose...the magic happens. It is in this approach along with her talent that I believe to be Nancy's winning combination!

Kathryn Thurman

Nancy Medwell entered into our family in the saddest of times. On a moment's notice Nancy flew to be with our family as we were preparing to say good-bye to our dear friend the Rev. Renee Riley. With compassion, sensitivity, understanding and generous amounts of her personal time Nancy was able to capture untold love in her photos of Renee, her husband and young children. Nancy intuitively connected with the Riley family, their values and the deep emotions present in these final stages of Renee's life.

For a lifetime we will all be grateful to Nancy and the beautiful memories she captured.

Mary Ellen Johnson
Palo Alto, CA

For those fortunate enough to be either the subject or the viewer of Nancy's portraiture, the photographs are not merely a moment frozen in time, but portals through which [you] peer into the human heart and spirit.

I'm glad to have been with her on location recently as she took my patient's photo for “Portraits of Healing.” The expectation that I would see something wonderful unfold was met. I enjoyed seeing how intentionally, yet effortlessly she worked composing the shot, listening to and observing everyone assembled. It was obvious to me she was in her element—in the “zone,” as she went about her work, not unlike a painter prepping canvas. I saw for myself how aware she was of relational nuances, making the patient and [her] loved ones feel at home in their skin; creating sacred space. I looked on in admiration and recognition—Nancy's work, much like mine, is about mindfulness and presence. Nancy's artfulness invites what Mystics call “contemplative gaze”—drawing attention, changing perception of place and time, so remarkable relationship as well as beautiful visual images emerge...

Maggie Finley
Chaplain, Providence Hospice of Seattle

I first met Nancy Medwell in July 1996. My 36 year-old wife, Wendy, had just been told by her doctors that, because of advanced breast cancer, she had only two months to live. Friends of ours offered to have Nancy come to our house and take photographs of Wendy, me, and our two young children.

It is hard to express in words just how meaningful a gift this turned out to be. The photographs that Nancy took captured the intense love and affection, and some of the desperation we were feeling at the time. Nancy has a real talent for bunging out the poignancy and emotions of such a situation. To this day, almost eight years later, I still have photographs from that session on the shelf in the family den and on the desk in my study. I also included one in a collage of photographs of Wendy that hangs outside my kids' bedrooms. We all derive great comfort from having these images be a daily part of our lives. Although painful at first, they have helped us to grieve and to heal over time. My daughter Sarah was two years old when Wendy died, and she has no independent memories of her mom. Nancy's photographs help to define Sarah's image of Wendy as she grows up. Also, unlike most of our family photos that were taken by either Wendy or me, Nancy's photographs offer to both of my kids an image of Wendy and me together, expressing clear love and tenderness for each other and for them.

I believe that the project on which Nancy has embarked can provide valuable therapeutic benefit to people of all ages dealing with the loss of a loved one. It certainly has done so for my family. I am happy to endorse her efforts.

Philip S. Morse, Esq.
Senior Vice President, Administration
Nintendo of America Inc.