About Me
At the age of 14 I took a bunch of acrylic paint and created this really beautiful Autumn tree. I spent maybe two or three hours straight painting every branch, perfecting every brush stroke for the leaves, shading the trunk of the tree; spanning out every branch as far as the space would allow me to stretch it. In the end, I had created the most magnificent Autumn tinted oak. Happy with what I had created, I left. Later that day my grandmother came into my room and asked me "Did you paint that tree on the bathroom counter?" and I said "Yeah, I did. I'm sorry. I'll clean it up."
She didn't let me until my dad came home so she could show him, because she was so proud of it. I spent another two or three hours chipping dried paint off of a marble countertop.
I was raised with every opportunity I could have asked for to just be creative. From painting bathroom sinks, to drawing on the arms of my friends, to being flooded with friends and models who will let me take photos of them at the drop of a hat; the world has always been my canvas. I guess that is my philosophy.
This world is so ready to be filled with beautiful things. It is absolutely starved for art despite art being such a universally celebrated activity. We never grow tired of it. If I live the rest of my life with my only accomplishment being that I created something; anything worth looking it, then that is enough for me.
I have been shooting photography since 2004. I've found myself in the most unlikely situations, with the most amazing people, doing the most ridiculous things. I wouldn't trade a second of it for all the gold in the world. I have captured celebrations of love, life journeys, growth, death, agony, perseverance, and bliss. I have had the amazing pleasure to share moments with strangers, and to witness seconds in silence that if it were not for my camera, the world would never have witnessed.
This is more than a job to me. This is my entire existence.
If you are looking for a photographer who will stay out of the way, and shoot exactly the textbook images that you've selected on your Pinterest board, then you may want to look somewhere else. I don't just want to be staff that you hire for the day. I want to get to know you. I want to create something that you are going to love for the rest of your life. I want to be challenged, and above all I want to create beautiful things.
I am horrible at writing things about myself. A friend once told me I was "like lightning in a jar" and that really resonated with me. I've been compared to a dragon. Often I'm called "a bad-ass" or "a queen".
I am a godmother, a friend, and inspiration to some. I am a veteran. I dabble in painting, drawing, videography, website design, dance, writing poetry, I collect weird snow-globes that aren't christmas themed, I have helped design outfits, I can cook anything, and I don't believe in anything. Not a single one of those things feels like who I really am. In the end, I'm not sure any of that matters to me. The truest and most honest thing I can tell you about who I am; what the deepest part of my soul screams is pretty simple.
I am a photographer.
The rest is just chipped paint dust being swept off of a marble countertop.