The first time I realized I could literally stop time with a camera, I was hooked on photography. While I may not have originally had the dedication I have today, as a child I originally discovered my passion for capturing truly original moments. This discovery came from an old 110 film cartridge camera given to me by my parents. Most likely, this gift was to stop the continuous borrowing of more fragile and ultimately more expensive equipment. But what it meant was that I could finally take pictures my way.

Unfortunately, my way at that age was “artistic” shots of the living room carpet, an out-of-focus shot of our dog’s nose, or possibly someone’s shoes or nostrils. This tended to lead to yet another lecture from my loving mom about how much film costs, and how much money and effort it takes to develop those works of art stored on the 110 cartridge. And after each lecture, I would wish there was a way I could take all the pictures I wanted, no matter how abstract.

As we all know, the world of digital photography answered my wishes. Not only for finally removing the restrictions that had previously been bestowed on me by those paying to develop my photos as a child, but also because it combined my deep interest in photography with my already developed interest in technology, specifically computers.

As a young adult, I purchased my first digital camera and rediscovered my passion for taking photographs. But this time, I found purpose. I learned quickly how to control the equipment, and began exploring photography as a creative outlet, rather than just for visual documentation. As I began to learn what it meant to me to capture a fulfilling image, I also began to feel that there was a world of intriguing depth waiting for me just beneath the surface of my interest.

In early 2007, I was finally able to realize my full interest and passion for photography. Since then, I have tried to explore as many aspects of the field as possible. As I have done this, I’ve realized that my passion for photography grows exponentially when combined with other aspects of life I truly enjoy. My love for live music creates a draw to performance photography, and my respect and love for the world we all live in fuels my enjoyment of nature photography. But with humans being the remarkable creatures that they are, my true enjoyment of exposing human character comes to play in portraiture photography.

I was a child with a fascination with the power to stop time, and an intense draw to technology. As an adult, my love for photography allows me to combine the two in a creative and artistic manner, pausing time and light forever.