First Professional Shoot
"Wait, you're a what now?" Photographer. My family teases me that I get obsessed with whatever I'm interested in. I prefer to call it intense focus. My intense focus can last for weeks or many years. Decided I wanted to be a Navy jet pilot when I was 14. Retired at 39 so that one lasted a while. When my kids were 6 and younger it was piano. Became a teacher until the 6 year old started playing high school tennis. Oh there was and still is tennis. And running the programs for elementary aged kids at our church for a few years. Still leading the high school girls of the class of 2019 in our youth group. We've been together since they were in 7th grade and I adore them.
And photography. Like a lot of moms, I've enjoyed documenting family life. But going on a dream safari vacation in the summer of 2013 got me motivated. Yet another new and intense focus. After over four years of learning and practicing and volunteering to be the photographer at all kinds of events, it was my friend Shannon Nornhold who actually got this professional photographer idea out of the back-of-my-head fantasy and into reality. She's a professional photographer. She liked the portraits of mothers and daughters I had done for our National Charity League chapter. Our daughters were both in the graduating class last spring. She has a daughter in this year's graduating class. She called to hire me to take the same portraits again and also to take the portraits at the big end of the year celebration next spring!
And so, armed with a website, an Instagram, a Facebook page and a camera, the next intense focus is in full swing. Less time to sit around and contemplate this empty nest, so I got that going for me.
