Looking Back
My family moved from Nebraska to Arizona when I was little, so I don’t always remember that much from then. But I do remember when my Dad bought a used Nikkormat to capture all the beauty he saw in the desert. Times got pretty tough and he gave up on this interest to work as much as possible just to make ends meet, leaving the camera to collect dust. One day, he gave it to me as a present, I think when I was about 12. I didn’t know how to use it and certainly not mature enough to understand the technical aspects of how the shutter speed related to the aperture – but I am a born self-starter and very stubborn. I practiced and failed many times, but never really gave up. I took a photography class in high school and the first time I watched a photo of mine actually develop in front of my eyes, I was amazed. I spent countless hours in the darkroom and went through much more than my allotment of film and paper. I loved processing my film, setting up the enlarger, developing my photos, and absorbing every bit of information I could. I was drawn to anything creative, jewelry class, drawing class, sewing, etc. but one day I opened a program a friend shared with me – Photoshop – and begun to teach myself how to use it…and eventually pursued a career in Graphic Design. Some of my designs have even been published in books (proud parent moment here), but occasionally I would come across those photographs I took when I was a kid (see photos at end of post) and think about how much I missed photography. The past few years of my life have been filled with challenges and changes. With that, photography found its way back into my life.

Looking Forward
Those who know me, know exactly how stubborn I am when it comes to proving I can do what I set my mind to and just how passionate I am about photography. I’ve found that the photography industry is similar to the design industry in many ways, which makes me believe that I can find success in this business. Its not only about being creative but also connecting with clients to capture who they are. Both of which I love and I hope that is what is reflected in the photos I take. Even though that old Nikon Nikkormat (shown above right) has once again found itself collecting dust, its only because its been replaced with a serious upgrade and a very serious commitment to taking this as far as I can. Many sacrifices have been made to pursue this dream but I love what I do.

To wrap up this post, I wanted to pay tribute to that Nikkormat by sharing a few of those photographs that I had taken when I was a kid. (Please pardon the dust & scratches, the original prints have seen better days.)

Left: My parents hands + Right: My sister posing for me

Left: Experimenting with light, marbles on top and a dollhouse on bottom + Right: Playing with contrast, a flower on top and cat on bottom

Both images were in Tombstone, AZ during a reenactment at the OK Corral