Showing My Story

When Did You Know You Wanted To Be A Photographer:

I believe I always wanted to be a photographer. I received a camera from a family friend when I was little, I desperately wanted to photograph everything in sight, however the issue was that I never received any film or a way to develop it. My mother was the queen of thrifty. Let me give you a couple of examples of the depth and breadth of her thriftiness.

I received an Easy Bake Oven as a gift from a relative one year. It came with two cake mixes and two frosting packets. Once I used those, the oven was never used again. It sat on the game shelf in our house. I received a used a Creepy Crawler/Flower maker (from a neighbor) that required goop that you squirted into metal molds and then put into the Creepy Crawler cooker. Once my two bottles of goop were gone, that was the end of my rubbery bug and flower making fun. So, when it came to photography, I was really out of luck. Even if I could save enough to buy film, my mother would not spend the money to develop the film (much less drive to drop it off and pick up the photos. She didn't drive either (but that's another story).

In junior high (called middle school now-a-days), I had two male friends who ran the dark room. They took all the photos and developed them for our junior high newspaper. While I was writing articles for the newspaper, they were out having a terrific time photographing everything. Oh, was I jealous. Of course their families had eagerly provided them with cameras that would do the job...and all the film they needed.

So instead of becoming a photographer, I traveled in another direction ...

Animal Assisted Therapy, Early Childhood and Elementary Education, and Counseling garnering multiple master's degrees and certifications. After many years in academia, ... teaching everything from kindergarten to master's degree students, I never lost the dream that someday, I would have enough money to buy my own film. It turned out that very soon after I had gathered enough money, DIGITAL arrived!!!

Thanks to digital cameras ... I became a crazed fanatic, annoying my family and friends with photos of every event and gathering, everyone was a potential model. I went crazy studying with every renowned photographer, in a variety of genres. I could not get enough information or practice. And the rest...as they say...is history.

How would you describe the photos you like to take:

Humorous ... Touching ... Outside The Box ...

Two ends of the spectrum: Very Real or Truly Imaginary

Favorite Snacks:

Dark Chocolate Marzipan, Fruitcake (with rum), Dark Chocolate Almonds

(Yes, I know, you're all saying: Oooooo yuck!)

Dislikes:

• That crinkly, crusty stuff you get on your heels
• Those rubbery strings attached to the inside of new shirts ( Ladies, you know what I'm talking about. Men...not sure if you have to deal with these)
• There are no super great prizes in and/or on cereal boxes anymore. (That's how I got my first record ... remember, thrifty mother). It was "The Archies" and their big hit Sugar, Sugar on the box of my favorite cereal, Super Sugar Crisp

Hobbies:

Dogs, Kids, Books, Family game nights, Creating adventures and parties where you get to wear costumes

Credentials:

Animal Assisted Therapy/Human Animal Connection, Humane Education, Master's Degree Education, 2nd Master's Degree Counseling, Continual Photography Student

How Do You Feel About Self Portraits:

Self-Portraits are a-okay with me. Who else would I get to sit in a tree for the sake of art?! You can find me in a variety of my fine art photos, when a model is unavailable, or is unwilling to stand in muddy, freezing water

Testimonials:

I'm not a fan of testimonials because, as we all know, you can get your brother-in-law to write quite a few for a lemon meringue pie

Here's one...not written by my brother-in-law:

Linda was recommended to us because we are a family who doesn't like traditional portraits. Linda is known for her fun and creative method of photography and film. Not only was the shoot fun, but she took a great deal of care in selecting our Artisan Collection. We could tell that she takes pride in getting the details right. Linda captures real life moments, with a laid-back, let's see what will happen style when shooting. My family had a blast. We're going to do this every year and fill a shelf with great albums showing how our family changes each year