healing gracie

How did my passion for photography come into existence? Hmmm...that's a good question to ask myself. I remember when I was young I had wanted a camera for Christmas (or was it my birthday).

I was young...maybe 10-ish...I'm not sure. Anyhoo, there was I was unwrapping a small box. And lo and behold there was a camera inside! I was ecstatic! My dream come true. Forget the other presents I had (clothes, socks, etc.) I had my beautiful new camera. Mind you it was just one of those $30 cameras (I think it was about that much). It was a traditional film camera, nothing fancy. Just point and shoot...you have a picture. I also got a few rolls of film with the camera. Let's just say, the film didn't even last 24 hours. That's right, I had used it all up. Apparently I was very eager to get my photographic skills into play.

My love for photography waned a little until I reached high school and got my first digital camera. All I can say is, my camera never left my hand. I was taking pictures like crazy! I do recall annoying some of my friends because I was constantly taking pictures of them...all of them candid. I never really gave any of them a chance to get "ready" for the shot. Candid was more fun (and you get some pretty embarrassing pics, too).

I also did yearbook in high school, which gave me a great excuse to take pictures of everyone. I really liked being on yearbook. At assemblies and student events I had front row access to the action (thank you press pass). It was also while on the yearbook staff that I really began to challenge myself in the shots I would get of people, experimenting with close-ups and different angles.

Then college started. I continued to take pictures, but my interest turned from people to scenery and nature. As part of my major I was required to take a photography class and an image editing class. I learned so much in those classes. It really helped me to improve in the technical aspect of photography, as well as the creative. I fell in love all over again. I was hooked. It was during this time that I actually began to see that I did have a talent in photography...so even after the classes were over I continued to push myself to learn more. I am still continuing on that learning journey, learning more tips about color, composition, lighting, etc. It's safe to say that photography is definitely a passion, and is not something I will be giving up anytime soon.