I’m Cahleen, a documentary photographer, camera nerd, and photobook addict. Originally from the Los Angeles area, I’ve been living in Taiwan for almost two decades. I photograph in a documentary style because I believe that if we’re lucky enough to make it to a ripe old age, what we’ll want to remember more than anything is our life as it truly was and the people we love as they truly were. I love candid, unguarded moments that tell stories about who we are, the relationships we value, and the spaces we inhabit. I love boxes of dusty Polaroids that you discover under your grandmother’s bed and then pour over with the whole family, shocked at how young everybody looks.

I consider myself a photojournalist and historian for families. This means I don’t alter the environment or interfere with the moment that’s unfolding. I use my camera to tell stories about family connections, what it was like to live in that one apartment when your son was three years old, and what it felt like to finally lay eyes on your new baby. I create art out of moments, preserving them so that they’ll be shared for generations to come.

Some people might call me crazy for likening family photography to art; I say that this is the art that we never stop returning to.