I have always been a photographer.
It started with being photographed. A LOT. My dad was a hobbyist, and was really great at capturing moments between my brother and I and the other kids on the street as we ran wild during the good old days of the 70's/80's.
The summer I turned 10 he let me use his old Honeywell Pentax with one roll of Kodak black and white while we climbed around the mountains in Dardanelles, CA. I was pretty much hooked. I wanted a camera of my own after that, but just wanted instant. I like instant. Instant gratification and nothing to think about. So, for a few years it was a lot of point and shoot. All bad.
In high school I weaseled my way onto the yearbook staff, despite my mediocre grades, and went out and bought myself my first "real" camera (before I got my first "real" car). In 1989 I spent $800 on a Nikon 4004 (and $3000 on a 1979 VW Bus--with air-conditioning). It was such an awesome camera. Auto-everything. Still pretty much instant, but now I could ZOOM! I hated the cheesy posed stuff that comes with shooting for the yearbook, though I took plenty of that. I found, as I practiced being super stealth to get the "candids" for the book, that I really loved photojournalism, and being able to tell a story or even infer a story with images. Really. That was my passion.
So, on to J.C. I went, and took all the classes that were offered for the AA for Photography, but the whole time I was taking the classes, it just felt like I was doing it for fun, which in hindsight is a good thing, I suppose, but I was really hung up on how I was supposed to be a photographer and a mom at the same time, because, you see, that was the only other thing I knew without a doubt I really, really wanted, was to be a mom. I toured the Academy of Art 3 different times, but gave up on the idea because I felt like I was pursuing something silly, and that there was no way to do what I loved and still raise a family.
Fast forward about 15 years. Raising a family. Still really wishing I'd pursued my dream job. I finally just decided to do it. I was still in a film camera frame of mind (pun?) when my husband gave me a DSLR for Christmas. I was a little offended by digital, but, suddenly I REALLY had instant gratification. I climbed the learning curve slowly, and soon people were asking me to do work for them. Scary, but exhilarating! It was fun to see how digital allowed for more photographers to take on the "lifestyle" approach, which I would consider photojournalism, because there's no longer that worry about how many frames you have, because of the price of film, or the need to stop and re-load. Some shoots are still very planned and deliberate, but there is freedom to fire away when trying to capture a preschooler chasing bubbles, or a kid riding a skateboard, or bachelors diving for a garter.
I've now been working as a wedding and portrait photographer since 2008. I have purpose for what I do. It's not about the rush of seeing a frame that takes *my* breath away anymore. Now it's about seeing my work take my clients' breath away. I love when I see an image evoke emotion from moms and dads and grandparents. My intent is not to "take pictures." I have no desire to hand over a 4 inch circular disk and send you on your way. I intend to capture emotional, beautiful, artful images and help my clients create something beautiful for their homes that takes their breath away over and over. I want my clients to cherish the idea of recording their families' lives and making those recordings a permanent part of their haven. Life is fleeting, but photography freezes those fleeting moments. Chubby cheeks, tiny fingers and toes, youthful brides and grooms, tearful-happy mamas, loving wise grandpa eyes. All frozen in time and printed on canvas, framed and hung on your walls.
I am a photographer. I love being a photographer and capturing moments of people's lives. It sounds so cheesy, and so over-done, but it's true. This is my passion and my bliss.
