It All Started With...

It all started with a Kodak: a 5.0 pixel EasyShare that I took everywhere. It was that Kodak that I got for some birthday or anniversary or Christmas, that first foray into digital, that started it all for me. I have pictures that I adore that I shot with that tiny silver piece of magic. It followed me to Mexico, the yellow chairs and swinging hammocks; to the red rocks and bluest sky of the Nevada desert; to Mike, always Mike, my favorite subject; to the peace of Central Park—quiet scenes of a lazy Saturday afternoon in the middle of the bustle.

Somehow this tiny silver camera has evolved into one with zoom, into the Canon Rebel XSi, into the Canon 50D. Somehow I have gone from taking snapshots of the sky and my friends to portrait sessions and life events. Like my cameras, I have evolved from a person who likes to take pictures into one who lives to take pictures.

I am a writer, a lover of stories. Through my camera, I have found ways to tell the stories when words fail. I have learned that a kiss on the forehead, when captured at the right moment, can speak more of love than a poem can.

Through my camera, I have learned about light. I find myself watching the play of light through a window during a road trip, the way it reflects off the bay, the way a child’s hair looks when backlit by a sunset.

My goals are simple: to become better. I know what I want to say but am limited by how I can say it. I have the passion and the eye for the stories that only a camera can capture. I am only limited by the technique and knowledge that has eluded me and that I now seek.

I have always said that if I went for a Master’s degree, it would only be for something that I wanted to become better at; for something that I felt a love for. I seek to learn more about this craft, to learn from artists who live photography, to become better for my future clients and for those who let me tell their stories. I seek to become a better story teller.

*This is the Statement of Intent that I submitted with for my MFA of Photography *

What do you think? Acceptance worthy?

~

Last Sunday, the best cousin in the world Josbel, his wife Anne, their beautiful son Joshua and my sister Yani and her huband, Jorge, came over for dinner. I made Chicken Marsala. It was awesome. While we were sitting around talking, I couldn't help but take pictures of Joshua who is getting bigger by the second. Here are my favorite shots of that night: