mywedding.com Santa Barbara

My passion for photography started when I was in my 20's. It was the first time I saw a photograph from a 35mm camera, rather than from the Polaroid camera my father always carried. When I purchased my first camera less than a year later, I never left home without it. All of a sudden, everything was being creatively framed in my mind, and then in my camera. From new places I was venturing to, to the people I saw everyday. In the years between then and now, I have had the opportunity to make a living as a photographer, and I have come to understand the reason I love photography so much. First and foremost, it is the creation of images that become permanent. No longer is the moment a fleeting one. Second of all, my photographs have given me a voice to my innermost feelings. Through my images I am able to say to the viewer what I saw in the moment. I find the beauty in emotions shared, and I find the emotion in the simple beauty of places and things.
Natural light says it best for me. Whether captured digitally or with film, I find the exact light that enhances the moment and the mood. When I shoot with infrared film, my images feel spiritual to me. The way infrared film captures the light that you and I can't see, and how it illuminates the skin, is sensual to me. Black and White photography is what moves me the most. I think that color can sometimes distract from the essence of the moment. Black and white images bring the emotions to the surface; they become palpable, and moments become timeless, no longer relying on the colors that speak of what was popular at the time. They become raw, and essential.
For me, being a photographer is an integral part of my personal journey. Learning how to be true to myself has only proven to improve my capabilities as a photographer It has helped me to trust my intuition. Whenever I think, "oh, I should have the bride and groom try this" and I set it up and shoot it, it is many times the favorite image. So what started as a passion for photography, has revealed itself to truly being a passion for life itself!