My Journey With Photography

My journey with photography began in high school. I was required to take an art elective and photography seemed like the best option at the time. At first, I hated the class due to the complexity and my limited understanding of art. I had recently transferred from another state and I was a new kid in a big school. I had no idea at the time how lucky I was to be at this new school and how it would forever change me. The school focused on art and amazingly had a fully functional black and white dark lab. Even though I struggled in the beginning to learn the science, it didn’t take long before I was fully invested and learning the basics of photography. After completing my first class I continued to take photography all four years of high school, I finished AP art my senior year and was sent to take a flash photography class in Chicago the end of my senior year. During this time I learned the basics of exposure through working with black and white 35mm and 120 film. My love for black and white photography grew as I learned to create a final image through shooting, developing, and printing.

at the completion of high school I was planning to attend college for photography in the city and did my best to get into a few promising schools. I was accepted to the Art Institute but had no way to pay the bill for tuition. I ended up taking a break from school to work and save up for college. Upon returning to school I went for a science degree over art, however I was able to pick up a job as a campus photographer while studying where I continued to learn. I photographed events all over campus, and was able to get a number of my photos featured on the university website. Event photography was something I learned from but it also burned me out creatively. I went from one event to the next and lost focus on the creative and artistic aspect of photography.

I took another break from photography after college as I turned my focus to starting my career. I took up other responsibilities and tried out a few other hobbies but always missed photography. I did my best to capture events at work and capture moments through my families life but it wasn’t the same as shooting portrait photography where I got to be creative. It was New Years of 2022 that I decided I was going to get back into photography and really go after it. This time around I wanted to focus on photographing topics that interested me. I decided I would devote time and effort to learning what I had forgotten while also learning new techniques. I made it a goal of 2022 to set up shoots that would challenge me while networking and meeting amazing people along the way. My goal for 2023 is to continue to learn, network, and continue to build my style. For a list of shoots I would like to make possible in 2023 please click here.