One of my favorite things to do as a child when visiting my grandparents would be to go through their photo albums & look at pictures.. even if I seen the album a dozen times, I’d still enjoy looking. My grandpa was a photo bug & I think it ran in the family. It’s something we both loved.. taking photos & looking back on special moments captured..
I’ve always had a creative eye & a passion for art.. I majored in art in high school & still continued to practice painting & drawing after I graduated. I still enjoy painting to this day but I find I’m too critical of my work & am not as happy with the finished product as I am with a photo.
I bought my 1st film camera when I was 22. I fell in love with it, but couldn’t really afford to go to school to learn more or even develop my film after so many rolls collected. I bought my 1st digital point and shoot camera in 2006 and I had a lot of fun with it, capturing many memories of good family times and vacations. Once I got my hands on a DSLR in 2012 is when my interest really developed into something more of an obsession. I started taking pictures of anything & everything, invested in some better lenses, some lighting & decided to be a photographer as my 2nd job, working at something I love doing rather than working a retail job for minimum wage, working late hours & long weekends.
I’ve always wanted to be a photographer but never really had the confidence, but after so many of my family & friends kept telling me that I’m really good at it and I should go for it, I decided to do it and just went for it. I found my passion. I decided to make an investment in myself & my passion to strive for success. I’ve sold my photos & artwork through websites such as fineartamerica.com. I’ve had the opportunity to exhibit my artwork & photography at the Hammond Public Library, and I have also been hired locally for jobs such as family portraits, birthday parties, real estate shoots, engagement photo sessions & weddings.
In my spare time when I’m not out hiking somewhere taking pictures, I like to read about photography, browse photography websites and try to learn as much as I possibly can & put it to practice.. I never had any formal education or training in photography. My knowledge on it is all self taught thanks to the internet & magazines.
