I bet you're wondering who this Jessica person is, right? What's her deal, anyway? Why is she so stoked about photography? Read on for some answers!
Let’s take a journey back. Back to the 90’s when things were rad. Me and my super huge bangs felt totally cool in my swishy neon windbreaker (let’s be honest, how could you NOT be cool in that). Maybe the huge bangs were a bit much, but that was my mother’s doing. It was at this point in my life that I remember getting my first film camera. I was so excited and went a little bit off the deep end with it. Flamingos. Trees. Storm clouds. 15 slightly different angles of a close up of a horse’s nose. They weren’t all keepers, but the joy of photography was ignited.
Fast forward to the early 2000’s. The bangs retreated and the boy band phase commenced. I didn’t really feel cool anymore. High school will do that to you. I signed up for a couple photography classes. Turns out Dark Rooms are SUPER fun (yay developer, stop bath and fixer!). By then I had upgraded to a huge, plastic clunker of a digital camera. Think Fisher-Price look alike, but less yellow and more fake chrome-y. Sure, the pixilation was horrendous, but MAN was it cool technology. You could just plug that bad boy in and see your photos after a few minutes (or 20) of downloading. No more waiting a week for film to be developed! What a dream! How easily I could save those precious acne-scarred, awkward, angsty teen, drama filled moments I would cherish for-never. (That was a bit dramatic… I do like reminiscing about those times too).
In college my boyfriend (now husband) knew my love of photography and surprised me with a brand spanking new camera to take on a January-term abroad. It was ultra-thin, tiny, shiny and silver and I felt like I would break it. My huge Fisher Price clunker could have toppled off a mountain and probably remain unscathed… Thankfully, the new one survived the trip without injury and returned with a bazillion photos of koalas, sand, tennis matches, and shenanigans across an ocean. I’m so glad I have photos to commemorate those events, some of which I do not entirely recall. It was college after all.
After college came the immediate anxiety of finding employment, paying off student loans, feeling too young to be an actual grown up, getting engaged, saying ‘I do’ to a really awesome dude, and making babies. Some of that was more fun than others.
Once the babies started getting older, I realized how quickly they were becoming not-babies anymore. Enter: my first big girl DSLR camera. Sure, I got it because I wanted to preserve the precious fleeting moments of my kids growing up, but secretly I got it FOR ME. Because I wanted to try something new, to do something that stretched my mind. That made me grow. That challenged me. And you know what? It certainly did all of those things. At first, I was terrrrrible at it. I was so excited to have picture perfect portraits with the click of a button. BOY was I wrong. Because technology only goes so far and then comes practice. And learning. And growth. And the drive to hone your craft year after year after year because it makes your heart sing. Because it brings you joy and even more joy seeing the joy it can bring to others.
After a lifetime of fostering my love of photography, a lifetime of never-ending and continued growth and learning, I am completely enthusiastic about sharing this passion with you.
I’m Jessica. Lifestyle and Portrait Photographer. Obsessed with stories of love, of families, of milestones, of every day beauty and extraordinary moments. I’d love to be a part of your picture-perfect moments too.
I promise I won’t wear a windbreaker. Unless you want me to.
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