"Hello World!" is a fitting place to start. After a harrowing move to California from Indiana in June 2016 (that is a post for another time), I have gotten the unbelievable opportunity to concentrate on my photography. There's no better way to represent this transition than by getting to photograph my amazing former student, Grace, this past September. I had Grace as a student in my screenprinting and textiles courses when she was an undergraduate student at Indiana University. She really stood out because she had an open mind and was willing to challenge herself, had a work ethic like nothing I had seen before, and really LOVED to learn. Plus, she just exuded positivity and beauty from the inside out. After she graduated we kept in touch and developed a really wonderful friendship.
I was so excited when Grace bought a plane ticket from Portland to come and visit me in San Jose. Among visiting the beach, hiking, and hanging out, I knew I wanted to design some photoshoots with her. She was really excited about this because she had never gotten her senior high school portraits taken. It turns out she had been very anxious about posing for photographs and was worried that her parents would spend a lot of money and none of them would turn out. I was definitely up for the challenge! It is extremely important to me to make people feel comfortable and confident in front of the camera (and just in general). Our first photoshoot was during sunset in a nearby park. After some giggles, we got right into it and it turns out Grace is a natural. We had such a fun time, that she was my model for two more photoshoots: one in the studio and another during a hike. Thank you, Grace!
