Spring

You know how a certain smell, place, or even music can take you back to the time when any of those things concerned you before? I'm not sure if that makes much sense, but one summer I listened to Owl City 24/7, and now every time I listen to them, I am taken back to that summer and all the memories start flooding. Such a cool experience. 

Now that spring is nearing and leaves are uncurling on trees, flowers are peeking out of the ground, and it's warmer, I'm completely brought back to last spring when I first really found an interest in photography. I went to a Young Life ceremony when my brother Blaine first became a Young Life leader at CNU and that's where I met Katelyn James. Blaine introduced me to her and we asked her to take a picture of our family. I immediately thought she was awesome. 

And for some reason, after I found her blog a few days later, I fell in love with photography more than I already had. I learned a TON from her blog and realized photography was not only a way of capturing a moment in a split second, but that it was a beautiful art form. I started collecting lenses and learning to shoot manually. I was slowly growing. About three months later, I thought being a wedding photographer might be something I'd enjoy and I kind of started to pursue that but kept it quiet and to myself. I had just gotten a blog and my parents didn't even really know I liked photography. After I kept going out with friends to have photoshoots, I eventually told them that I was thinking about starting my own business in wedding photography. Even though for some reason my mom wasn't thrilled with that idea, I kept persevering. 

I still don't know if that's what I want to do, but for now, it is. We'll see what the future holds. 

Just seeing flowers for the first time in months today made me think of the days and weeks I took to look through Katelyn's blog so many months ago. I looked through every post, from the very beginning and learned about her life and her love for photography. Her images blew me away and still do. I look at them in awe and wish I was only half as creative and gifted as her. I'm oh so thankful for her inspiration in my life. Even if I end up doing something in a completely opposite field of photography, she helped me learn things I never would've otherwise and I can't thank her and the other Christian photographers I follow enough.