Getting into Photography

The question comes up, how did I get into photography? The answer for me starts around the 11th grade. My high school decided to have a photo contest so I entered. I knew these two girls that shared what had to be the messiest locker in school. So I took a picture of the locker with all its mess and won 1st place in the Washington High School photo contest.

So from rather humble beginings I got the bug. Photography was in my blood. That summer my family moved south and I started a new high school, Torrance High. School life can be pretty tough when you're uprooted and going into the twelfth grade. Luckily for me this school had an elective I could take called photography.

Photography was probably the one class I enjoyed the most at school. I found that I could say things with the photos I took that I could never say out loud. Photography was my voice.

After high school I continued on to El Camino Junior College and of course my major, photography. I lucked out with great photo classes and had some wonderful teachers. Hanson Williams and Merril Jones were teachers I respected and worked hard for. Hanson was a professional photographer (portraits, weddings, etc.) working in the South Bay. He had a studio in Hermosa Beach that I would visit from time to time. Merill Jones was the magazine advisor at college. Looking back I think of Merill as an easy going individual who knew what my strengths were.

more to come...