Sometimes we don’t know where we are going until we get there.
Before I opened my business as a Seattle portrait photographer, I was a waitress attending photography classes. I remember having a hunger to capture everything around me. It could be the light coming through a crystal vase, clothes pins on a line, a single bird on a branch, a shiny door knob, a textured sand dune, or discarded objects.
This phase of my life seemed carefree and frivolous. Sometimes I would take pictures by myself, sometimes with a friend who shared the same visual hunger. We would get up early to witness different light, take road trips, drive to diverse neighborhoods, and later share our work with others at cafes around town.
Though I didn’t know it then, this was an important phase in my career. I was diligently training myself, my senses, and my intuition. I began to understand light, and how to tune in to those visual details that are critical to composition.
All the knowledge I acquired lives in my work now. Those elements now easily fall into place, almost of their own accord, and harmoniously exist in the portraits I create of individuals and families.
The exploratory phase of my life is not as intense any more, since I run a thriving photography business which requires a deep level of commitment. However, I am forever grateful for having a curious eye, and for learning how to observe, ponder, and marvel at everything that is out there in the world.
