When I, like so many others, found myself furloughed from work in March 2020 I when a bit stir crazy. Ok. I went really stir crazy and really fast. Not only was I worried about the uncertainty the situation brought, I was anxious not having something to do all the time. See I have worked in Maintenance/Manufacturing for almost 20 years, there’s always something to be done in that field. But I found myself at home with my kids while my wife locked herself away in our room to focus on remote work.

We would watch movies, play games, go on walks, and play in the yard. And even though I throughly enjoyed being able to spend more time with my kids something was missing for me.

Enter Photography.

This photo of my son in March/April 2020 was the first make me think “Yea, I maybe I **can** do this!” - Taken on Nikon D90 w/35mm 1.8G

Now photography was always something I had an interest in but never allowed myself to do. I had this drive to be creative but felt I wasn’t. But in 2020 I decided I would finally give it a try if only to photograph my kids growing up that would be enough. So I bought a very old used cheap DSLR camera and an even cheaper lens. I started watching Youtube videos, reading how-tos and looking up photography related websites. I brought my camera everywhere we went: on walks, to the park, watching the kids play out front and when things started to go back to normal to work.

At first, I didn’t really know what I was trying to do except learn how to properly operate a camera but eventually I had a few ideas. I decided I wanted to photograph Landscapes and Astro. I also wanted to try my hand at Street photography since it was rooted in photojournalism and that’s what truly attracted me to photography in the first place.

My BIL Matt and his wife Annie, sitting on a Pebble Beach in Doo County. I was able to give my first gift of photography with this photo. I had a large print made and gave it to them as a gift for the holidays. It’s an awesome feeling to walk into someone’s house and see a photo you took hanging on the wall. Taken with Nikon D90 w/35 1.8

I quickly realized that I don’t have the eye or patience to photograph nature in any capacity and having 3 small children severely limited my ability to go out take pictures in the streets. So, running around chasing my kids for those perfect photos would have to do…..for now.

It wasn’t until I gave into a coworker’s request to attend a Pirate Pub Crawl he helped organizes every year that I finally found my niche. Capturing events. It was incredibly satisfying capturing moments from the night as it unfolded, the enjoyment of those part of the event, the absolute bewilderment of those that had no clue what was going on and my favorite moment from that night. A surprise proposal.

This is a photo I have always been proud of, capturing a proposal that I didn’t know was going to happen. Technically perfect? No. But the people in this photo ask me to take portraits of them every year at this spot because I caught a moment in time so important to them. Taken on Sony A7 w/28mm F/2

After that night I had no thoughts of starting a business, that would come almost 4 years later, I just knew I wanted to photograph more events. When my kids started going back to school, every function I had my camera. Every birthday party, family function, car show, & playdate. I had my camera. I just wanted to capture moments.Along the way, people would see my camera and as if I was a professional and my answer was always the same, no.

I truly believe having children has made me a better photographer. Having subjects that are constantly on the move forced me into being able to quickly think and adjust to the situations. So as I walk around an event I see things like this and I have everything dialed in before the camera even meets my eye. One click and I got it. Taken on Sony A7IV w/50 1.8

Finally, after almost 5 years of taking photos I decided that I wanted to start my own photography business. A dream I've had since I was a kid was to have my own business. When I graduated high school I went into the trades right away as I had no interest in college and especially not working behind a desk for some big corporation. I knew I eventually wanted to work for myself but no clue as to what that would look like. With photography that dream finally seems like it can be a reality, I'm not there yet but now I have a goal and even more importantly a means to achieve it. I just need to make it happen.

Photography: From hobby to passion to business.

Fall Family Photos at Hammel Woods in Shorewood, IL