Hello new readers! As this is the first post of my new site, I thought that it would be fitting to provide a bit of a background for my interest in photography.

My interest in photography goes back to 6th grade. For some long-forgotten reason I decided that I wanted to buy myself a digital camera. As it turned out, 11 year old me didn’t have a significant amount of disposable income (go figure), so I knew that I was in for a long haul of saving up. To distract myself, I turned to the local library, where I worked my way through their entire collection of books on photography. By the time I actually had my first camera in my hands I had gained a fairly decent understanding of the basics of composition, exposure, and photo editing.

Unlike so many of my previous interests (so much for coin collecting), photography had staying power. Heading out for shoots became an addiction. My family moved to Tokyo for a while, and I took entire days to just travel around the city, capturing what I saw. Before too long, I was gifted an old DLSR by some of my extended family, which allowed me to truly take my photography to the next level. Even after my family moved back to small-town Minnesota, I carried on my photography, continuing my slow but steady improvement.

I carried on with my progress well into high school. I slowly picked up new lenses, and replaced my camera along the way. Vacations served as some of my favorite moments of inspiration. One shoot in Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge stood out so much that it even inspired my main college application essay. Once I read the prompt asking me to describe a time when I felt completely content, I immediately knew that photography would feature heavily. My only challenge was determining which shoot to showcase!

Once the whole selection process was finished, I happily headed off to St. Olaf College in my hometown of Northfield, Minnesota. Right before I moved in, my mom showed me a posting for a work-study position as a photographer for the college’s Marketing Department. I applied, not really expecting anything, but ended up landing the job to my mild surprise. Little did I know how much of my life would be dictated by that choice. I’ve stuck with that job all of my way through college, and I can thank my coworkers there for a huge number of the improvements which I’ve seen in my photography.

As I’ve progressed through college, I’ve only become more and more serious about photography. My sophomore year, I took an introductory photography class, which helped me develop my portraits. Soon, I began taking on more and more portrait shoots, beginning my business. Word-of-mouth recommendations spread on campus, and my business grew.

To this day, I continue to explore new locations, subjects, and even styles of shooting. I’m always excited to challenge myself with a new type of shoot, whether paid or just for fun. It’s not always easy to find time to shoot in the middle of a busy school year, but I never regret it once I get out with my camera.