I met my sweetheart in college…music college, actually. He swept me off my feet and we were married in 1985. Together we decided he would join the Navy, and I officially became a “military wife”. This commitment has taken us across the US and back several times. He has traveled the world over and over. I elected to be the home base for our family of three daughters. I logged our family travels, many homes and special events on film. Photographs are how I introduced our second daughter to her Daddy since she arrived while he was half-way ’round the world on deployment. They were how I kept grandparents in touch with the growth and accomplishments of our girls because we were separated by days and days of expensive travel. A camera has been my best buddy for years; for capturing special moments of those that I love. But I never liked images of myself. I felt they were unflattering, and I avoided them at all costs…

…until one day my sister-in-law, a gifted fine art photographer asked if she could photograph me. I hesitated, then finally conceded and worked with her to style my shoot. I was tense, but she patiently worked with me, and captured images I never dreamed of. She presented them to me in a small booklet and that has been a treasure for me, because she saw in me what I never saw in myself…an inner radiance that I had been timid to share. Since then, I have worked with her in her business as a photo editor, then gradually she encouraged me to pursue increasing my skills behind the camera. And, to my delight, I found a new passion for photography.

My husband and I have settled down in Pensacola where he retired from the military. Our children are grown, two of them married. We have two beautiful grandchildren. I now proudly sport grey hair…so this image isn’t current. But it’s not that long ago, and with the man of my dreams, which makes it one of my all-time favorites. We have both settled into our second careers, he working for (but not in) the military and I as a fine art portrait photographer. I love to work with women and be an encourager, and so I have a professional Hair and Make-up artist that pampers every woman before their shoot for at least an hour. I love to photograph women and catch that very same essence which my sister-in-law found in me. And I love it when they share their photo session with the ones they love, for that very special relationship can’t help but manifest itself when they are together. And so, I am a photographer of Women…and the People they Love.

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