... Your Journey

Today I was asked to think about my story: how I came to be where I am right now in my life. As I write this I am sitting in a hotel room a day away from moving out of my dorm room at Belmont and it made me realize that while I am responsible for the tone and narrative of my life, a lot of other factors can influence the direction in which it goes. So while you read this, I hope you think about your own story and how it's okay if life takes you to a place you didn't plan, because there is always something greater than you that knows that that is exactly where you're supposed to be.

My photography story:

How did I get to be in this digital photography class, sitting at home at a time where if all had proceeded normally I would be exploring Southern India at this very moment? I'm going to start with sixth grade. When I was 11 or 12, I had the opportunity to travel to Costa Rica with some of my Spanish Immersion classmates and teacher. It was here, in my first notable experience away from home that I first picked up a camera. It was nothing special, just a small, blue Canon (I think), but it opened up a whole new world for me; not only did I find a new talent but a new passion for discovering new things.

When I returned home I started taking pictures with my cell phone and (attempting to) edit them with the built-in photo editing software that comes with Samsung smart phones... so not the best quality circa 2013. Eventually I got tired of the cell phone, and I asked for a nicer camera for Christmas. Ever since then I have been photographing to my heart's galore.

A new chapter for my photography occurred when I made the move to Nashville. I found myself surrounded not only by extremely supportive friends, but very talented ones as well. Several of them asked me to take portraits of them for their music; Spotify pages, promotional pictures, headshots, etc. I was so honored and it opened me up to a whole new world of photography. I was also presented with the opportunity at Belmont not only to travel to India (which had been a dream of mine for YEARS) but also the chance to take a photography class―I was overly thrilled; and although I didn't get to go to India I still am taking advantage of this learning opportunity during quarantine to add to my own personal photography story.

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After writing my story I was asked to take 3 pictures:

1) A self portrait of myself portraying the emotion of how I felt after sharing my story: which was contentment and pride

2) A portrait of me pretending to be someone from my family: I chose my mother because taking her picture has always been consistent... forehead down, shoulders down, and a "really? you're taking my picture AGAIN?" look.

3) A portrait of me without my face in it, in order to attempt to answer the question; can you take a portrait without a face in it? I say yes. I sit crisscross more often than not, so I captured an image of that. Portraits I believe are most useful for capturing mannerisms, and there's no reason we can't have mannerisms that aren't seen in our faces.