A Picture for Your Thoughts

July 07, 2011

A Picture for Your Thoughts

I've always wanted to be a photographer. Well, let's back up. I've always liked the idea of being a photographer. I think what I really want is MORE of "knowing how to take amazing photos with my cool camera to hang on my wall" and LESS of "getting paid to stand on my feet all day and take photos of random things for a paycheck."

When I went to college I remember staring at the freshman handbook late into the night, imagining what it would be like to check the "Photojournalism" box. Before you even begin as a student at my Alma mater, the University of Florida, you must attend a session called "Preview", in which you experience what it feels like to be on campus. You spend the night in a shoebox with a stranger (fitting example of dorm life) and are forced to chose what you will be interested in for the rest of your life.

Ominous day at the beach

So, for a good few hours, I sat on that tiny twin bed and imagined myself taking critically-acclaimed photos of a vicious predator for NatGeo or drinking wine in Italy to capture the next cover of Wine Enthusiast. (Who wouldn't want to be the photographer in my fantasy?! Okay, maybe not the vicious predator part...but doesn't the video give you chills?)

In all honesty, what I love
about the art is the chance to look at the world in a different way. Even without a camera, I find myself taking "pictures" in my mind when I see the perfect angle or the ideal light. But, to me, what's even more special is that moment, that glimpse, that perspective. Forever captured. How cool.

Anyway, I ended up taking the sensible route, but sometimes you can still catch me lost in the grown up version of my dream...traveling, writing, taking photos, and sharing it along the way with all of you.