The truth is, I was never a good student when I was in school. Nothing excited me or caught my interest until I took photography class in high school. For the first time in my educational career I was excited about a subject, I got good grades, I excelled, and I knew that I had found my calling. When I stood in a darkroom developing the pictures I had taken, it was like magic. Seeing the image I had only seen through a lens appear on a formerly blank sheet of paper was simply fascinating, and I was hooked. Since then I have moved on to digital photography and still find the entire process mesmerizing. That high school class led me to attend Southern Illinois University, one of the top Photography programs in the country. With my degree I have actively worked in the photography industry for over 15 years from portrait studios to commercial photo labs.

Being a photographer is as much a part of who I am as being a wife and mother. I can’t imagine my life without it. Creating art out of the every day lives of the people I photograph is an immensely fulfilling feeling. It never feels like a job to me. There’s nothing like capturing a genuine laugh on someone’s face or that glint in someone’s eye as they look at the ones they love that could bring me bigger joy when I am photographing them. They’re in their natural state, and so am I.