I grew up here, in the Bay Area. My parents divorced when I was young and I bounced between homes. I bounced a lot. I moved 16 times in 10 years, but never left the Bay. I lived in an extra room in Piedmont, a commune in Berkeley, a house in Albany, a transitional home in Oakland, a rental in El Cerrito, the list goes on. I learned to put pictures on the wall quickly, to cover my bed with a special quilt, and to get along with and appreciate people from a broad range of communities.  

My education in Bay Area culture didn't stop there. My dad was an assistant minister at the Lakeside Temple of Practical Christianity. He married a Buddhist woman. My aunt and uncle converted to Judaism to marry the conservative man and the female rabbi they fell in love with. My mom preferred a Baptist church for the music. Again, I was offered a million lenses through which to view the world. Now I travel with a tarot deck and usually know what phase the moon is in despite being a self-proclaimed skeptic.

All of these experiences resulted in some deeply held beliefs. 

1. Black Lives Matter.

2. Love is love.

3. Gender is a social construct.

4. All stories deserve to be told.

These aren't just stickers on my water bottle, these are my fundamental beliefs that help shape my decisions and actions daily.

How does this connect to photography?

As creatives and business owners, we have tons of messages, vying for attention suggestions on how to market ourselves to the world to maximize the number of eyeballs on our work. These suggestions can have us twisted like a pretzel, trying to create a brand message that attracts our ideal client. But what if we redirected our focus on being entirely ourselves. Instead of just emphasizing the aspects of ourselves that are trending?

I believe photography has the power to share your story with your community. When we share content that tells the world who we are, we attract our ideal clients. We stand out in the crowd in ways that are authentic. We feed our personal superpowers and empower others to do the same. We make work we like, we have fun doing it, we enjoy the people who find us.

So here is my thesis: Your story is powerful.

Pick up your phone or camera or a disposable. Capture some images that show who you are and share them.

Or hire me! I would love to take the photos that are going to make people stop scrolling and get curious.