Hello, my name is Melissa and it is so awesome that you are here. I have been dabbling in photography since my junior year in high school when I needed to fill up my schedule with classes to earn enough credits to graduate. At first, it was just a no-brainer to fill a time slot in my day, but it opened up a whole new world of creativity for me. This was back in the day when there were only film cameras, so the class not only taught us the specifics of photography while looking through the lense and the settings in the camera itself, but also developing the film. What a cool process that was!! Unfortunately, I had to stop the class half way through due to some personal reasons. Sadly, that made me put down my camera for good, or so I thought.
Life continued on for me. I graduated high school and was working as a Nail Technician and also an Education Instructor for Creative Nail Designs – known know as CND. I was traveling to teach other nail technicians how to use CND’s products properly. This was so much fun for me! Then the time came to settle down and get married in 1999. Our family started to grow soon after getting married, so my job title shifted and I became Momma to two girls. Being their momma was my proudest work!! Sure we had some rough times, but who doesn’t when raising teenage girls that are 15 months apart in age and their personalities were complete polar opposites!! But we persevered and they are now grown adults navigating this crazy world the best they can!
In 2009, my love and passion for photography was awakened again. I picked up a real camera, by this time the world had started to move into the digital age so no more film development, and cameras were pretty compact at this point that you could slip them right into your purse or pocket, so I never left home without my camera. The satisfaction of being out with my girls on a nature trail, at the mall or just driving around Fort Drum, NY (where we were living at the time) and pull out my camera to capture whatever we saw that caught our eye – soooo stinking cool!! And THEN, to be able to come home and just plug the camera right into the computer or laptop and download the photos and see them instantly *mind-blowing compared to the “old days” * LOL It was then that I was introduced to an editing software called Picasa (which I think eventually became Google Photos but I might be wrong on that one – so do not hold me to that detail. I might have to research that and get back to you). In Picasa, I learned to do minor tweaks and adjustments to my photos but for the most part, I used the software to organize my photos in my computer and then add a copyright watermark to them.
I eventually upgraded my software for editing and started to dabble in a type of post-processing of my photography called Composite Photography. Basically, composite photography is the art of taking components from one or more photos and compiling them together into a new photographic creation. It could be something as simple as swapping out the sky in a photo OR taking the flowers from a couple of different photos and adding them to a new photo of your cat and making a tribute photo to him. The possibilities are ENDLESS with Composite Photography!! While I normally prefer to ONLY edit and adjust my photos SLIGHTLY that you will see on my website and on my Facebook Page, Composite Photography is so fun to play with! You will also see some of that work here – and it will be specified when it is a heavily manipulated outcome, just for transparency reasons and to make sure that I represent my honest creativity here. For the most part though, the before (or SOOC – Straight Off Of Camera) photos are usually NOT TOO FAR off from what you will see showcased here, since I am a firm believer in just capturing what catches my eye that I think is cool or interesting or beautiful and then sharing it here with you.
I also dabble in Portrait Photography but honestly, posing people is just not my thing. I am not creative when it comes to that. Capturing people candidly, from a distance, when they have no clue a camera is focused on them is honestly my most favorite way to capture people. *Gosh I hope that doesn’t sound creepy LOL* I love to capture the moments of genuine joy and emotion and feelings when people do not know a camera is pointed in their direction, they get so self-conscience when they KNOW a camera is pointed at them, don’t they? I love to capture the raw everyday life and emotions – the genuine reactions of humans just doing their thing. I think that is called Lifestyle Photography? I am not sure, it might not have an official name honestly.
Have you stuck around this far to read this all?? I am impressed *giggle* I hope you enjoy your stay here, make sure to prop up your feet and settle in with a nice drink or a snack. It is wonderful you are here and I hope you enjoy my photography and if there is anything you see that you really like, ask me about how you can get a print of my work to hang in your favorite space at home or office or as a gift for a loved one! Enjoy your visit here and feel free to comment on any of the posts and tell me what you love about the photos!!
Sincerely,
SweetMelissaV