About Fold
My passion for storytelling and photography began long before I was old enough to grasp the profound impact of my habit of telling stories to myself in my head. My grandfather gave me a toy camera, and I remember carrying it around my neck. It felt like having a friend who accompanied me everywhere I went. Over the years, I continued to create stories and take photographs of people, buildings, and life around me. The pivotal moment when I learned that storytelling and photography were important to me came when I served in the military. I was sitting in the back of a Humvee, lost in daydreams. As I sat somewhere in a state of consciousness between reverie and reality, I felt the massive tires bounce aggressively on the bumpy and unpaved roads. Images from my farewell dinner and from the New Year’s Day celebrations at home with my family 24 hours earlier still lingered in my mind. I began to realize the full implications of this long journey that would take me to a 12-month deployment in Iraq. It was at that moment that my thoughts turned from the joyous memory of the New Year’s Day celebrations to the prospect of the Humvee being blown up by an improvised explosive device. It was in contemplating this imminent peril that I began to understand and truly appreciate the gift and value of life. Leaving the security of my family life in America for a war-torn country and the guarded path back home changed my life forever.
Our stories are what make us who we are. I want to seek the truth about life and see the world through others’ lenses because their stories are mine too. I learn about myself through them, and I discover who I am and why I am here by comprehending the small world I live in that exists within the larger world surrounded by the people around me. The dream of having my own platform to share my artistic vision and telling the stories of people I meet in my life—because I believe everyone has a story to tell—has finally become a reality. I am thrilled and honored to be sharing my ideas, and I hope you will enjoy the worlds I share with you.
Thank you for visiting my website.
Kristin Cho