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photography for me is not just a hobby or simply an art form, but it is a way of life. it is part of my very being, my very existence. i have noticed a transformation in how i see the world since i began perching myself behind the viewfinder. i notice the details. the small things. the seemingly minute droplets of morning dew on the crimson rose petals or the years of rust and corrosion antiqued and weathered into a door hinge. i have begun to see things in a new light. through a new lens. and now, i can't take it off; they are part of who i am, a prescription specially catered for my eyes, for my heart, for my very soul. i see and capture moments, textures, lighting, emotion, line and form. i see the raw, authentic character and personality of the people around me and freeze it in the frame.

i remember my first official photograph with my real camera. i was on the train down to irvine to catch a ride home with a friend for a wedding that weekend. we were delayed. we inched along the rusted rails and wisps of smoke wafted through cabin and foliage flamed on the hillside above, red flames licking the sky. i pressed the shutter. my first photograph was of a wildfire charring the dry, october hills of southern california. it was not really art at all. it was awful actually. but it was the first. the first of thousands. the first real moment captured. the first shutter released. the first time focusing the lens. and it was the first time that i began to realize my love for sight. for photography. for noticing. for noticing what is not always noticed.

that weekend at home i continued to explore my camera. i thumbed through the pages of my user manuals, posed my family and dogs in front of the lens, and combed the garden for compelling flora. i look back on the images i created that weekend, and they are actually some of my favorites. the first. there is a history there. they tell a story. the story of my journey as a photographer. they show where i began, and now looking back at them, in some ways, i can see how far i have come. and i am excited to see how i will continue to learn, to grow and to change as my photography evolves.

there is something that happens when i hoist that camera to my face and press the rubber eyepiece against it. i suddenly become in touch with the world i am seeing. i notice. i notice things that often go unnoticed by the naked eye. i notice life. emotion. i notice stories and histories. passions and feelings. life and community. and then when i lower the camera from my face, i still notice. i can't help it. my eyes have been trained to see, to notice, to capture and preserve. i love that i notice. and i love that i can then show others what i see and what i feel through my photographs. and from that create art and story. the photos become part of who i am. although, they may often tell someone else's story, they also tell my own. they are windows into my life, my family, my friends, my experiences, my moments. and in a way they are windows into me and become part of my story.