My love of Photography...

So, something you've probably noticed about my blog is that it always has a lot of pictures. There are multiple reason for that. I'm a visual learner... pictures interest me. Not that words don't, but I like to have a picture to associate with them. (Unless of course I'm reading a novel, which I love to do. I've graduated out of picture books.) However, with magazine articles, other blogs, etc, I want the visual stimulation. Another reason for all of my photos? 

I'm a photographer.

I have a small photography business. I focus mainly on family and child portraits... though on a personal level, I photograph just about anything. It's ALWAYS been an obsession for me.

I got my first camera when I was 4. It was out of a Kellogg's cereal box, and it took, excuse me, takes I-10 film. Yes, I still have that camera, with the little Kellogg's rooster. It's stored away at the moment, but I'll make it a point to find it, and photograph it, so you can see. It takes the grainiest of grainy pictures, but oh how I loved that thing. When I was in 3rd grade I upgraded to a point and shoot 35mm camera. Simple. No zoom. But it took clearer pictures than my cereal box find. It was all I asked for, and I was in heaven! I shot photos of everything, everywhere, and then used my small amount of chore money to develop the film. 

When I was in 6th grade, I upgraded again to a 35mm point and shoot... with a ZOOM!!! Oh. My. Gosh. It was, like, the coolest thing, like, EVER! haha By this time I had a new baby niece to photograph. She was my star. I fell in love taking pictures of children then. I also started taking tons of shots of the babies in the nursery at church, which the parents liked and appreciated. That camera lasted me until high school. 9th grade hit, and suddenly I was yearning for an SLR. I was in the yearbook class at school, so my dad bought me a Nikon N55. Half the photos in the yearbook that year were taken by me. I took so much pride in that. I wasn't overly popular in school. Just kind of average. I played soccer, was a member of FCA, an officer in the art club, etc. I was just the girl next door. For once, I felt like I got to shine. I loved that everyone saw my photos, and remembered me taking them. They were fun memories, and I'm glad I have them. That camera, which I still have, was my primary camera up until 2 years ago. I bought a few other 35mm SLR's. One off ebay, and from a boss. They're much older, and I love the way hey add that natural vignette look to the pictures I shoot with them. 

What changed 2 years ago? I was married, and had my 1st child. I couldn't afford to spend so much money developing film all the time, and I was taking TONS of pictures. Of course! (I still have a bag full of film that need to be developed... it's been collected over the course of the last decade. Something that will take me hundreds of dollars to finally get all done.) So, for my 1st Mother's Day, my wonderful husband bought me my first, and hopefully not my last, digital SLR. I got the Nikon D5000, with 2 lenses... one of them is a micro, which I love and have so much fun with. That's what I still shoot with today. It's a great camera, and it does what I need it too. I hope to eventually upgrade again, but I won't be adding that chapter of my story for a another few years. 

Now, it's funny that I've typed this entire story without posting the 1st picture... you know, me being a visual person and everything.I just had to type and get it all out. Below I've included some black and whites... all of them were shot at least 5 years ago. I wanted to include some older photography to incorporate with this story about my photo history. I hope you enjoy my story and my pictures. Go out now, and shoot some of your own! ;-)

~Amanda