Billie Jean Redemeyer-Roney

Billie Jean Redemeyer-Roney finds joy in photographing subjects many people might shy away from: cancer patients.

As a recovering cancer patient herself, Redemeyer-Roney understands how it feels to appreciate things you used to take for granted. She wanted to take pictures of the beauty she saw in the people she knew, to capture glorifying moments. Viewers of her photographs not only see emotion, they feel it.

Redemeyer-Roney’s career in photography kicked off nearly 25 years ago, and she is still going strong at age 55. “Faces of Hope,” one of her current exhibits, is on display at the Enloe Cancer Center.

Aside from her “moon-baby” fixation—that’s what she calls the hair loss and silky smooth skin resulting from chemotherapy— Redemeyer-Roney has spent hours capturing the essence of sidewalk cafés and cobblestone streets in Italy. However, what brings her the most comments and “won’t let my heart stop thumping” is the Chico artist’s air-show photography.