Why I Love Being a Photographer

OK, I'm going to be transparent about why it is I love my "job".

I lost my Mom in a car accident back in 1993.  We didn't have many photos of her, let alone portraits of her, our family, or just the two of us. She always put her hand in front of her face when a camera was pointed her way. I was a Speech Pathologist back then, busy with my own life, and hadn't thought about having portraits created of her, for her, or with her.

In 2001, my husband underwent a quadruple bypass. At that point, I retired from my career and picked up a camera.  I had always loved photography but hadn't wanted to photograph people. That changed and I found myself beginning a whole new career.

In 2003 my husband began radiation and chemotherapy. Once he stabilized following treatments I insisted that we have portraits created. We had not done professional photographs since our wedding in 1986. I'm so glad I did, as the portraits we chose got me through those first few years after he passed.

I was then faced with my sister having significant health issues and my fear of losing her.  I knew I wanted portraits with her! They are in my consultation room and I'm thrilled to say I love them and I still have my sister. She is 100% healthy! 

The past few years have been difficult on everyone, many have lost loved ones and some people were not even able to see them in their final days or hours. We don't know when we will lose someone or when our time will come. I photographed a friend of mine and her mother who was in her late 80s at the time. When her mom passed in her late 90s she said, "Now I know what you meant when you said, "you will never know the value of these portraits until they are all you have left"!