May 20, 2013 EF-5 Tornado

It's a sound you never forget. One of the most powerful tornadoes on record rips through the most densely populated parts of the state. It sounds like a runaway train, snapping building frames like toothpicks and scouring entire neighborhoods down to bare earth. Even from three miles away, it feels like the beast is knocking right on your front door.

One of the three primary events that shaped my mission and purpose, it's not the horror, destruction, or death from the Moore tornado that sticks in my mind. Instead, it's the powerful symbol of hope and unity as the response brought together not just a state and community, but the entire nation. People came out of all corners of the woodwork, not to offer thoughts and prayers, but to donate supplies and volunteer their time. In all my life, I have never seen anything close to the amount of love and support that poured into the community from around the country. And it was standing in that damage path, looking at the endless scoured lots and concrete slabs, that I found my calling: telling stories through photography.