This week I start a new journey. A scary one. An exciting one.

It was one of those future, responsibility, “what am I going to do with my life” type conversations. I still remember telling my dad right out of high school “I want to be a photographer.” He had a puzzled look on his face. I’m pretty sure neither of us knew what that truly meant. I simply knew that I wanted to create photos and make a living doing it. I knew photography was expensive. I knew the industry was highly competitive. But I also knew it was highly rewarding. I didn’t know how difficult it really was. How much time and effort it would take.

That was almost 10 years ago.

Fast forward to now. I’ve put a lot of time in between the many things of life over the last 4 years trying to build upon taking my photo work full time. The time has come. I’m cannonballing into this, and I’m hoping my friends (you) are jumping in alongside me. Here I am. A full-time photographer!

I used to be SUPER hesitant in calling myself a “photographer”. There are so many stellar "professional" photographers creating breathtaking images, and there are others that are not so good (no offense) that also deem themselves photographers (you've got to start somewhere, right?). I think that's where it came from; this reserve. The wide gap of "photographers" ranging from hobbyist to pro was confusing, quite honestly. So I never pegged myself as a "photographer", I just told people I take photos on the side. This got me thinking...

Consider this:

A Major League Baseball player. He grows up dreaming of becoming a professional baseball player, watching his heroes on TV. He goes through Tee-Ball. Little League. High School Ball. Gets a scholarship to play in college. Gets drafted to the Majors. Is voted Rookie of the Year. A few seasons later helps his team to the World Series. They win the World Series. He's the MVP.

That doesn't happen overnight.

It takes practice. It takes a TON of dedication. Countless late nights/mornings, blood, sweat, hills, valleys, and dry seasons to get there (wherever “there” is). Mastering gear, fostering relationships, researching techniques, mimicking processes. It has all brought me here. And it's not over. It'll never be over. And this excites me.

I’ve never been one for sharing many words, I feel like the vulnerability is much greater there. So I mostly show photos and let the emotion be open to interpretation. I want my work to be about relationships, and this is where it starts. With words.