The Beginning

“Everything that flickered could be made permanent. That was what drew him to photography, what made every painstaking step worth it: the permanence of the image. That was what fascinated him, the working against time...”
― Katie Roiphe, Still She Haunts Me

It had all started when my mom bought the family a digital camera. It was a big bulky thing, but that's how they all were in those days. An old Kodak Easy Share, probably as basic as we could get for 2006, was my inspiration. The moment I picked up that camera my life changed. The first time that shutter went off, I knew I was hooked.

As a 12 year old I didn't have the most amazing experiences or go to the most interesting places, but I took that hunk of plastic everywhere, and I'd take pictures of anything. I found beauty in the most basic things. Even if the image turned out pixelated or blurry, I'd still cherish that picture. It was capturing a moment, a memory, a beauty. Something that may be gone forever.

My computer albums were full of thumbnails of my friends, my family, school functions, and most importantly; nature. The outdoors was my playground with that camera. I'd wander our acres for hours finding anything to snap a picture of. Leaves, trees, hunting shacks, mushrooms, flowers. Everything was a wonder when looking through that lens. Even if the picture wasn't as good as the reality, I'd still see the beauty in it that I saw that day.

My pictures weren't the best, and that's not modesty. I like to think I had a good eye, but I didn't have the quality and materials to be all that great. It was my hobby, a fun and enjoyable one. I loved it and knew that this would be something I'd continue to do.