Let's remember each other.
In 2016, I picked up my first camera, a Fujifilm XT-20, and damn, I was hooked. I dabbled in all sorts of photography, but portrait photography was my jam. I upgraded to a Fujifilm XT-3 and then made the leap to the Sony mirrorless system because, well, professional work demands professional gear, right? As my Instagram gained recognition, I started having one of those existential crises: “What’s the point of all these pretty portraits?” Yep, classic ENTP-T overthinking.
Then, portrait photography just stopped being fun. I hit a wall. Then COVID hit, the world went to hell, and I went on a quest for deeper meaning in my photography. Ah, those delightful quarantine days.
Okay, rewind a bit. During my portrait era, I actually shot a bunch of weddings. Weddings have always had a soft spot in my heart. Ten months after buying my first camera, a high school buddy (Yeah, I know. This is the 88th time you’ve read this in a wedding photographer’s bio. It’s always these darn high school friends, I’m telling you. Sorry, Chris.) asked if I could shoot their wedding. Like a curious orange cat, I said yes—for free. I did my homework, things were smooth until the Father-Daughter dance. The dad cried, the crowd cried, and yep, I cried. What the heck.
That’s when wedding photography found its way into my heart. And surprise, the photos didn’t suck. But no, you don’t get to see them.
Fast forward, I kept snapping away, never stopped taking clients. During the ‘dark times,’ I became the Director of Marketing for a restaurant group in Denver. Hence, my extensive food and beverage photo portfolio. I also flipped a house with my girlfriend, learned landscaping, flooring, and hoarded power tools. Oh, and I picked up Muay Thai and trained in Thailand. Need a photographer and a bodyguard? *wink wink* Just kidding—sort of. My interest in fight photography is skyrocketing, so stay tuned for that.
So, did I find the meaning of my photography? Definitely, even for portraits. I realized everything is pointless if you think too hard or zoom out too far. My photography won’t save humanity or fend off aliens, but it captures the now, the joy, the fleeting moments. These photos mean the world to couples, their families, friends, and maybe even their kids and grandkids. It’s my little immortality project.
Every so often, you’ll flip through your wedding photos and say, ‘Do you remember our photographer?’
‘Oh yeah, he was bawling during the father-daughter dance.’
And that’s enough.
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