The first female DPs that I was aware of were Ellen Kuras, Mandy Walker, Nancy Schreiber, Amy Vincent, Sandi Sissel, Maryse Alberti and Tami Reiker. You look for a role model as somebody who looks like yourself and is doing what you want to do; they were the handful.

The big trick is just to get to a point where we're just considered DPs, and we're not 'female DPs.' When you think of the word 'doctor' or 'teacher,' you don't think gender. And it would be nice to get to a place where 'DP' meant either and 'director' meant either and 'gaffer' meant either.

When I was studying photography, I became interested in conflict photojournalism, and that got me interested in lighting. Then I realized there was this amazing thing called cinematography where you could kind of tell more complete stories photographing for film. So I ended up going to AFI grad school for that.

We shot 'Mudbound' in the South in the summer, which meant we were working in extreme heat and humidity at all times and that it could go from glaring sun to overcast skies to pouring rain in a matter of minutes, often shifting multiple times a day.

The more you worry, the more you throw off the delicate balance of hormones required for health.

It is not government's job to mandate responsibility on our behalf. We have the intelligence and good sense to make wise consumption choices for ourselves and our children. It is up to us to do what is best for our health and our children's health.

A lot of people say I am using all the procedures for my face. I didn't do anything. I live a healthy life; I take care of my skin and my body. I'm against Botox. I'm against injections; I think it's damaging your face, damaging your nerves. It's all me. I will age gracefully, as my mom does.

It's so jarring to go from Baghdad to Cambridge, to go from a place where people are fighting and striving and dying to a place where the biggest concern is what kind of cheese to put in your sandwich.