My name is Madeleine Beck — but most call me Maddie or Maddie B.

Some things about me: My car’s name is Athena. I was born in the Mississippi Delta, but raised in America’s Heartland. I now live in Chicago after living in Tennessee for a few years. I'm an avid rollerblader. I think it’s no exaggeration when people say buttered toast is the best food in the world. Grilled oysters and chocolate strawbs are close seconds. I don't eat anything with a face except for the time I had tuna at a reception thinking it was amazing pico de gallo. I have killed every plant I've ever bought, but am trying to change that by naming them. I'm the daughter of an infinitely brilliant and amusing Southern writer & journalist. My friends say I have bad taste in shoes, which actually ends up reaffirming my love for the shoes. I’ve been a photographer for a decade. My favorite book is Watership Down, which I try to reread every December, and I've been in love for 3 and half years.

We are made up of details like this. And the photographs of us __of our families, our friends__ should depict it. It’s my approach to document with sincerity & admiration for those in front of me — photographing this way has expanded my compassion, has made me a better friend, a better daughter, and partner.