Yup that's me, and yes I took my own photo, and boy was I glad I was alone because I'm sure I looked like a dork talking to myself and trying to think of funny things to make sure I had a natural smile on my face!

So here you go, more than you probably expected.  I'm pretty much an open book..... how and why I became a photographer.

Wait.... maybe you should get yourself a snack first this could take a while...;)

I have always been interested in art, took many classes and was an art major in high school. I also love to people watch……their interactions with one another, their clothes, expressions and posture. It really started in high school in the 80’s when I got a job as a waitress in a health food restaurant. Remember bean sprouts, tofu, sesame sticks and carob pie? Interesting people eat that stuff! After that I needed to rebel against all things healthy and went to work at an ice cream restaurant. Friday nights were packed with gangs of kids going to or from the movies, young families and older married couples on dates. I had the strongest forearm in school from scooping all that ice cream! Next, was a country club, talk about people watching! These were business-men-golfers, wealthy ones, with very high standards, having secret meetings behind closed doors on Sunday afternoons. They smoked (still the 80’s) and drank and yelled and drank and shook hands and laughed and drank. There were also older Jewish ladies playing mahjong chatting with one another and ordering fancy desserts and pretty drinks. Each venue had its own kind of patrons and they interacted differently with one another, I learned how to keep them happy.

My next job was as a summer camp counselor to a tribe of twelve 7 year old boys. I didn’t have much time to people watch, because these people were busy…….   ALL of the time! Now, they are probably getting married and having kids of their own, I hope they teach their children that, 12 boys attacking a bees nest, is not a good idea, ever!

At 18, I moved to Hawaii to be a nanny to a 3 year old boy. Here I began to appreciate photography. The sunsets, textures of lava, flowers, beaches, palm trees and landscapes. I wasn’t there very long but long enough to fall in love with it and photography.

I moved back home to Bethel, Connecticut and needed a job.

A photographer working out of her home called the local church secretary asking if she knew of anyone trust worthy to recommend. The photographer needed office help but it was in her home, she didn’t want just anybody. Coincidently the church secretary was my mom and the photographer’s home was about 10 houses down the street from mine! (My mom also got me the job in Hawaii! Thanks Mom!)

I started by answering the phone, making appointments and albums. She then asked me if I wanted to assist her at a wedding. I couldn’t wait. I thought it would be so glamorous and exciting. It was exciting and exhausting! I was a gofer. I loaded film, ran to the car for tripods and stools, carried the 30lb bag and got paid almost nothing, every weekend. I then started shooting with the back up camera. I had a good eye but I didn’t know my f-stops from my shutter speeds. So my boss asked me if I wanted to go to neep. What?     Not neep,    NEIPP-New England Institute Professional Photographers. I said yes, but was really nervous, I was not a professional, and I still didn’t know my f-stops from my shutter speeds. To top it off I had just started dating a great guy 2 months earlier and I wasn’t ready to leave him for an entire week with no contact (I was 18, and it was 1988, who had a cell phone back then and what did I know anyway?)

That week was head spinning. I felt like everyone was speaking a different language. They NEVER stopped talking about photography, their businesses, album companies, photo equipment, brides or print competitions. They were obsessed! This was not for me! I missed my boyfriend, was at least 10 years behind everyone in age and education. The instructor was a famous, ultra successful photographer and I actually learned a lot, but, I still felt like I was a kindergartener in college. By Friday, I decided this was not for me and I wasn’t coming back. I couldn’t wait to get home, hang out with my boyfriend and forget about everything I just learned. I packed my bags and headed down for my last NEIPP gathering….. lunch. There were speeches and thank you’s, acknowledgements and scholarships. Honestly, I was not paying attention. Until I heard my name being called for the first scholarship to attend free the next year. UGH!

I now firmly believe in fate. I went to NEIPP for the next 5 years. Learned my f-stops AND shutter speeds and studied with some of the best in the business. I never became as obsessed as all those other photographers who only know one subject! But I was hooked. I won ribbons in a few print competitions and started shooting weddings on my own.

That was 20 years ago. My boyfriend is now my husband of 15 years. We have 4 children… Kylie 13, Zachary 12, Sara 10 and Christian 8. We have lived in Rocky Hill  CT for 12 years now. I have photographed over 1000 weddings. I’ve taken millions of images- literally. Tiny babies, toddlers, families, senior portraits, brides & grooms, grandparents, landscapes, charity events and celebrities. I have won several national print competitions and now have my own studio/office in Rocky Hill. 

So there you have it.  That's me