Nationally Recognized wildlife Conservation Photographer
My Photography Story
Photography...My backstory
I’ve always been an enthusiast about photography, even back in the day of scrapbooking when I would constantly snap pictures of my son and the occasional husband and golden retriever doing cute and weird things that were always wonderful. But that was the day and age pre-DSLR when you would cross your fingers when you dropped off your film to the local drug store and hope that a few decent pictures would come out to preserve some moments in family history.
But move ahead 20-30 years when my passion for photography seriously began late 2016 when we moved to a place where living at the entrance to Pearl Harbor channel came with a direct view of Diamond Head, endless sunrises and sunsets that make you cry and mountains and ocean just beckoning for a picture to be taken. That's when I discovered the magic of new photography and the world of digital literally opened my eyes to what was possible with photography. I now had this camera that could take a seemingly unlimited number of photos of anything that I wanted. How great was that? Photography just naturally became my obsession. It really took off in 2017 when I was introduced to a whole new genre of wildlife photography through the Hawaiian Monk Seals and later the White Terns. Now I have vast interests that include other Hawaii marine life such as Honu, whales, dolphins and native and non-native birds. I'm also interested in militaria since we're a retired military family so ships, vintage aircraft, jets are also of interest and taking photos of my beautiful historic surroundings such as Ford Island, Pearl Harbor and more keep me busy.
Photography...My training and challenges
I am a self-taught photographer who has relied on much practice, many hours of photo shoots, and some great on-line tutorials to hone my craft. My unusual situation, and this is hard for me to write, is that I am for the most part legally blind since 2016 which presents, as you can well imagine, many challenges for me. When we moved to the beach, instead of binoculars my husband bought me a camera so I could just see the beauty of Diamond Head after going through a stroke in my eye. That started me on this amazing photography journey. Happily, despite these challenges, my photographs are beautiful and have been recognized on several international photography sites as the cover photo or photo of the day. They have also received accolades from well-respected photographers and most recently major magazines, photography books, and other local publications. In fact, sometimes I believe my photos may be better because of my disability, since a lot of the time I must be more creative and careful to capture and develop the shot just right.
Despite many hurdles, I am a strong photographer with a good eye for composition and a talent for post-production processing. I don’t lean on programs like photoshop to bring my photos to life, you could say that I’m more of a purist. I only use basic equipment and post-production software for my photographs and my more creative painted photos and illustrations.
What photography evokes in me
Photography is a great journey, but it’s a costly and timely one. It's a 24-hour opportunity to capture shots…sunrises, sunsets, moonrise, moonsets, landscapes, wildlife, Milky Way, you name it – something photo-worthy happens all day long! Not to mention the constant traveling from coast to coast so your photography palette doesn't get boring. It’s a joke among photographers that “we’ll sleep tomorrow, but tomorrow never comes.” It’s the price we pay to find our holy grail, the money shot, the “one”…if it ever comes.
But it’s how much fun I have capturing moments and emotions, seeing things I would normally never look for, looking deep into the woods or into the center of a flower, watching light as it casts its shadows in such a way that reflections are your new best friend. Exploring a lagoon, capturing a monk seal basking in the sun, seeing turtles play beneath the ocean’s surface, or watching an aircraft carrier glide over the ocean's surface for the first time. Whatever the moment or whatever the opportunity, photography is exciting.
After the capture, there’s no better surprise then when you sit down at the computer to download your photos and they fly up on the screen and you’re amazed at what you saw and doubly amazed at what you didn’t see. These experiences with nature and the world and the connection we have with them are so satisfying to me that I know photography will be in my life for a long time…as long as my eyes will allow me to see somewhat clearly through the lens of the camera, I will keep clicking and capturing moments and emotions so that they will not be forgotten.
Beautiful Hawaii was the perfect place for me to start my photography journey. With its beautiful nature, landscapes, wildlife, architecture, astrophotography and the occasional military to capture I couldn't go wrong.
North Carolina...the next journey! In 2024 I will start my photography journey back in North Carolina. I'm sad that I'm leaving Hawaii's photography "comfort zone", but I'm excited for taking on this new challenge to find my way to great photography opportunities. Viewing new species through my lens will be amazing as well as meeting other photographers who I can learn from and who I can share with. Stay tuned for what happened in the minutes, days, months and years to come. I can only hope that it will be MAGIC!
Mahalo for visiting my website and reading my story!!