Photography...

I am so thankful to say that I am a photographer...I can now say that with confidence and I love every single thing about it (ok...maybe except for all of the computer hours!).

I love the actual act of taking pictures, I love meeting so many new and fabulous people, I love the creativity of picture taking AND the endless artistic editing possibilities, and I love having an income (again!)!

I do believe that I was always meant to do this...I have always been "artistic" (as people would call me), but I have never felt good enough...I have always felt that my "good-genes" were evenly distributed...I am ok at everything, but never excel at any one thing. Even when I won the Art Award senior year, I could name at least two other classmates that deserved it more, but they just never applied themselves and took the classes. It made me feel like a fake.

With photography, I feel like I have found my niche...With a ton of practice and a ridiculous amount of dedication over the last 2.5 to 3 years, I am feeling the most confident that I have ever felt. I feel that I am officially a true "artist" and that I can stand on my own two feet doing it - without any help. I can officially call myself a photographer and say it proudly.

 Photography has opened up a whole new world for me...literally. I meet so many new people in the industry and with my clients. I get to revisit my past (like in the picture below), and I capture my family in a different way. Photography has made me see my family and my life, through the eyes of a camera...which also makes me feel like it is from a birds-eye-view. There are so many fantastic things that photography as done for me personally and professional and for that I am thankful...

The picture above was taken by my second shooter Sharon from the balcony...I am the one squatting in the isle...That is the church that I grew up attending in Foxboro. I received First Communion (I believe) and Confirmation there. I also got married there 9 years ago. I am not sure if I have been back since then. I have to say that it was a bit amazing being the photographer there...it felt like a full circle moment.

The picture above is MY LIFE....I sit at this desk 10+ hours a day, working on my two computers...It is a bit scary when I think about it. The cake was a RIDICULOUSLY good cake that Douglas had made me for Valentine's Day....It honestly put 5 pounds on me because I ate it for days....

This picture is a shining example of what my love of photography brings to our family....It is a perfect moment captured during our first time as a family on our new boat (June 2010).