I went to NAIT when I was 20 years old. At the time I had a 1-year-old son and was living in a townhouse in the West End of Edmonton. I didn’t tell my Father that I had registered because I knew he would tell me that I was crazy. Money was very tight. I had been working at Bootlegger since High School and became the Assistant Manager at the store in the West Edmonton Mall. I kept getting promoted and it was like being demoted in spirit. I had regular thoughts of 'why am I an Assistant Manager at Bootlegger, this is not at all what I want to be doing'. 

Taking a few years off to experience the Bootlegger grind was essential to me finding my passion and purpose in life. 

I applied to NAIT last minute. The program I wanted to take was challenging to get into, I ended up on a waiting list, and I called the school almost every day asking if there was any hope. I think I might have annoyed the receptionist so much that she put me in so she wouldn’t have to hear my voice ever again. 

After I graduated I started working taking school photos. It was great for my confidence to set up lights, photograph, and interact with clients every day. Even though it wasn’t at all creative and not what I wanted to do, it was great for my technical and professional development.  Personally, however, it was very difficult to have that job with the amount of traveling I had to do. My mom took my son for me a week at a time. 

So many years have passed now, and so quickly. And it's so different now...so, so, so different than what it used to be. I used to have ONE SHOT on film. Of course, some of the pictures would be all messed up, but sometimes the lab would call me and tell me that THEY messed up processing. Can you imagine me having to call you and tell you that your wedding shots were ruined in processing? Sometimes film would go missing; I recall frantically searching for it with my then-assistant. 

Now I photograph and it's just the beginning. It's a completely different process. I sit in front of the computer for hours, hours, and hours. I started in a world of photographing and today I am in the world of technology. And I've been in over my head in the past and I'll be in over my head again, I know it. This is a rapidly-changing industry. Initially, I went to school to learn about photography because I didn’t consider myself to be a good self-learner. But the minute I got out, the whole industry had changed, so I had to teach myself anyway! 

And the business part of things has evaded me for years. Even ten years ago my friends had to harass ME to invoice THEM. 

I've grown though, lots of growing left to do. Easy to grow in a space and in a world that you love, that for some reason you've always loved, and for so many reasons you stay in and work hard in every single day. This is who I am. 

I was recently asked for stories that moved me, shots that I’d taken, maybe some that had brought me to tears, beautiful moments that I’ve witnessed between strangers, loved ones, family…. I couldn’t remember any. 

I guess I’m on a different wavelength.

I’ve seen other photographer’s websites full of incredibly lovely stories, long, insightful descriptions catering to the emotions of their audiences, that’s so nice! But it’s not me.

I am a photographer behind the lens first and foremost, it’s as if I lose some of my humanity obsessing about the lens, the light, the placement of a hand, the crook of a neck, or the smirk that needs to turn into a smile. I am an extension of my camera. I am a machine. I am so committed to capturing what I see in the best possible way, technical notes running through my head like mathematical equations, that I sometimes regret not being able to appreciate what I am looking at until I see the end-product in front of my eyes. 

But what I see then is the most human thing of all, so far removed from me and my machine. Love, growth, loss, and life. 

Thank you for trusting me with all of your moments and your memories.

Sincerely,