About Me
What to say, what to say… I’ve never really enjoyed talking about myself, to be honest. Maybe it’s just an introvert thing? As I’m here thinking about what anyone would possibly care to know about me, my mind goes to.. I don’t know, personality type? (My fav is the Myers-Briggs 16 personality types. ISFJ over here if anyone wants to know 🙋🏻♀️). I don’t feel like my life is really all that unique enough to share, to be honest.
Let’s go through the basics, yeah? I was born in Crescent City, California, moved to Gresham, Oregon when I was three, and have always (and stubbornly, will always) consider myself an Oregonian! I love the rain, the green, the mountains and hills, basically everything about Oregon. I would move back there in a heartbeat if it weren’t so dang expensive to live there. I was raised in a big family with only one sister, so if you think I was beat up by a bunch of brothers for the duration of my adolescence, you’re 100% correct
My family was always doing something musical or artsy. To this day, one of our favorite pastimes is rocking out to ELO or listening to one of the kids playing Rachmaninoff or Chopin on the piano. We love singing and whistling. It’s all quite tender. And weird.
You can probably tell that my family is super important to me. I love being around family, capturing the love between couples and family members. There’s nothing more important in life!
Anyway, in between the tackles and half-nelsons from the bros, I was taking pictures with anything I could get my hands on: my mom’s camera phone, little digital cameras, even those cheap disposable film cameras. During high school, my mom got involved with the wrestling team my brothers were on. She took it upon herself to be the designated photographer at the wrestling meets and making highlight videos. I was often her second-shooter during those meets and I got some great exposure to the world of sports photography. Definitely got some great facial expressions at those tournaments.
If I remember correctly, it was sophomore year of high school that I got one of the best Christmas presents ever: my own DSLR camera 🥳 A Canon Rebel T3i. Man, was I on cloud nine. Now, photography was just a hobby at this point still, so my parents weren’t about to drop $2-3,000 on a brand new, super fancy camera. This thing was old. Like, old old. Something they purchased off of eBay from someone that had owned it for years. I didn’t care, though. It was a camera and I was going to make the most out of it. I think it came with two kit lenses, haha! At the time, I didn’t know much about how lens quality can really make a difference.
So, I set out taking pictures. Well, I wasn’t going crazy with the picture taking, but I took my best friend’s Senior pictures, a family friend wanted photos of her little toddlers, a newly engaged couple, etc. I would go outside and take pretty pictures of the fall leaves, or snow, or the sun shining through the trees in the Oregon forests. I loved witnessing beautiful scenes and making them last forever with my camera, in remembering the beautiful things in life that really help us get through those rough times.
Fast forward to a year after graduating college with a BA in music (suffice it to say, a career in music didn’t work out). I was working at a sales job in Utah, unhappy with what I was doing with my life and desperately wanting something… more. More meaningful, more fulfilling, something that would make me feel like I’m developing myself (and to keep me from dying of boredom). One day, my mom suggested that I make something more out of my photography. “You’re so talented at it—you could make it a business!” “Thanks mom, but you’re supposed to think that. I don’t know if I’m actually good enough to have people pay me. Plus, there are so many photographers out there. The market is saturated! I don’t know the first thing about starting my own business. The gear itself is crazy expensive. I would have to start my own website…” I was FULL of excuses. It wasn’t for another two years that I would finally decide to go for it and take a leap of faith. What changed? I’m not sure. I think it was the fact that I wanted to do something with my life that I was passionate about, that I could share with others, and that would bring meaning into my life. I was tired of the mundane tasks of a desk job (not that those can’t be fulfilling, not hatin’ on anyone). It was all those things, and the fact that I wanted to give something to people that they would cherish forever. I know, I’m getting pretty cheesy over here. That’s just how I roll.
Becoming a professional photographer has been one of the most exciting things in my life. There is always something to learn, to be happy about, to be worried about… It keeps life interesting and I love it. Capturing moments and making them into art is something so diverse, the possibilities are endless. I’ve met some amazing people! The people are what makes it all worth it. I love where I am so far, and I can’t wait to see where I end up on this journey! It’s gonna be great. 🥳
