Yesterday afternoon, I learned a little more about cystic fibrosis ... from a 6-year-old. Below, Abby Brinker (center), 6, of New Berlin, gets a hug from her best friend, Natalie Lichtenhahn, 8, while listening to Abby's new iPod. Abby, who has cystic fibrosis, was granted a birthday wish from the Make-a-Wish Foundation — she and her family spent a few days at the Kalahari Indoor Water Park, Wisconsin Dells. Cystic fibrosis is a life-threatening disease that causes mucus to build up and clog some of the organs in the body, particularly in the lungs and pancreas.

People oftentimes ask me whether I have the capability to shoot black and white with my digital camera. All of my files are shot in color, but with the click of a button in our photo-editing program, Photoshop, I can change any photo to grayscale. I chose to change these photos to black and white because sometimes, I think black and white gives photos a certain consistency that color cannot provide. Bright and distracting colors can take away from the moment we're trying to convey within the photo.