So when you you graduate into being 'a photographer'? I don't really know. So many people buy a camera and immediately call themselves a photographer. As if they've immediately become some sort of guru since they have a DSLR. 3 years ago I received my first camera in the mail THE DAY we left for youth convention. I used the event to play around with it, although I honestly had not a clue of it's specifics. I shot in Auto mode....I didn't know how to do anything else. I was not a photographer. I was a girl with a camera. The shots I took THRILLED me (although looking back I cringe at all the mistakes) and I sent them to the MI district. That year their hired photographer really blew it, and they ended up using my 'hi, i'm a girl with a camera here are my imperfect photos' photos. From there on, I've been working with the district.
I'm not sure when I began calling myself a photographer. It's been a process. But 3 years ago I devoted myself to learn everything I possibly could about this field. I indulged in every piece of literature I could find, worked for free, practiced on people and dove head first into it. If I had to guess, however, it's that moment when a person begins to see like an artist...with flawless effort...that the term 'photographer' can be pinned. It's when a person graduates from overly contrasted and heavily horribly edited photographs into a complete eye for detail and simplicity that they can be dubbed a photographer. I'm not sure when that happened for me, but I'm glad it did.
All I know is, if you work hard and devote yourself, awesome things happen.
So the MI Youth Convention is my anniversary. Not as a photographer, but as a camera owner. Nevertheless, it's an important anniversary.
I love this event...the passion, the light, the movement....I love capturing raw emotion. For those of you who don't know what this event is, it's a time for teenagers to get away from home and their normal surroundings to intimately meet with their Creator. Passionate worship times and challenging speakers work together to create a time for kids to get closer with God. I wish I could show you all the specific shots of kids pouring out their lives with passion to God, but I should refrain from close-ups of kids I don't know. :) You understand.
Alright, enough words, here are some photos.
