I remember holding that Canon XS Rebel for the first time, with my kit lens. It was one of the most beautiful and terrifying things I had ever seen in my life!
I googled photography classes in my area and I found a meetup group, Exposure Roanoke, (which by the way is still active if you are looking for a good group to practice with!) I had read the manual book and practiced on my son. Thanks to a friend of mine I had learned the basics of the camera, but this was a meetup with real photographers and models!! I was so nervous and excited! I still remember the moment I showed up to that meetup, it was a “Model Shoot”.
That was the day. The day that things changed completely for me. I knew I had to learn more and that night I just knew… I wanted to become a photographer.
I still struggle saying that out loud. I grew up around ideas like “when you grow up you will be a doctor”, so saying the words “I want to become a photographer” sounded silly. At one point I was told “you know that this will always and only be a hobby, right?” I can’t thank that person enough! While my need to learn the art started growing more and more, those words lingered in me for a very long time..
There’s a quote that keeps popping up in my head, “Our greatest fear lies in the anticipation” by Balzac.
We spend so much time dreading and overthinking that once we take the jump we find out that the real fear was in taking the first step. Fear held me back so many times… Every time I compared my work to someone else’s, it was fear, tapping on my shoulder and saying “are you good enough?” The idea of even submitting to a contest still makes me sweat.
A few months ago I received an invitation from Rangefinder, saying that I was nominated to submit my images to the 30RisingStars contest.
Most of you might not know what that is. It is a contest that you can only submit if you are nominated by a previous winner of the contest or by Rangefinder itself. A contest that wedding photographers from all around the world strive to be part of. I could hardly believe that I was being nominated. I actually reached out to a few photographers that have won in the past to make sure that the email wasn’t a scam, haha.
Even though I was not selected as one of the 30risingtstars, it was truly an honor to be chosen as one of the nominees.
When I first started, I could have never even dreamt of this. If I had let fear hold me back, the fear that still comes back at times saying “I’m not enough,” I would’ve never found this passion of mine. I would have never found my voice in this art form. I might not be in the top 30 in the world, but I am the best version of me and that is enough.
Here is the selection of images I submitted to the contest. I can proudly say that they represent my brand and that they showcase the real emotions that I am constantly in search of.
