I love photography!  I've spent the past four years developing my photo skills.  Let's say my "eye" has been ready my whole life but my "brain" which is supposed to be used for technical skills is still in the infant stages.

4 years ago when my son left for his church mission to Samoa he left behind all his worldly possessions which included a really nice camera.  His final words to me before he left were not "I love you Mom, you're the best, and I'm going to miss you more than burrito's" it was more like "don't touch my camera while I'm gone".

Ok, so one day I got bored and I thought it would be fun to take a drive in the country with my sons camera.  I know, I was defying a missionary!  I could get struck by lightening, but I was willing to take the chance.  Even though I kept looking over my shoulder the whole time waiting to be cursed the drive was lovely and the instrument felt amazing in my hands!  When I started pushing the "take the picture" button I went from empty to exhilarated!  Pure oxygen started flowing into my lungs and I felt intensely calm.  If you've ever played tennis and hit that sweet spot with your racquet you know that great clean feeling when something feels perfect.  It dawned on me that when I was looking through the lens I was actually focused, I'm never focused!  Who needs Ritalin, I found the best drug ever!

Well the day came when my son came home from his mission.  I was torn!  Yes, I was so excited to see him again but what about the camera?  I had already built a client base and had started a little business, was it all over?  Was my dealer going to take back his drugs?


On the contrary :)  Mr. Mellow came off of the plane without a care in the world.  Bob Marley would have been proud.  His newness and goodness were all about his 2 years of service and living without worldly goods.  He was proud of my photography and was happy I had found a hobby that made me feel great!  He said "Mom keep the camera". 

 Here he is coming off the plane and he see's me using his camera to take his picture :)


We now both have camera's thanks to my parents help and we enjoy sharing and learning from each other.  He's working as a photographer for his college paper and I'm taking senior pics, and pretty much everything I deem beautiful.  He's pretty much forced me to learn to shoot in manual mode which has caused a ton of stress to my infant brain but I know it's worth it.

Here's another tennis analogy to photography that he shared with me.  He said "Mom, you can play tennis with the wrong grip and do fine but you'll never advance your skills until you learn the right grip". 

My kids teach me a lot :)

Here's some of my gallery.