Dear Friends,
I believe I owe everyone an explanation of why I dropped off the face of the earth. No, I wasn't abducted in Austria. No, I didn't quit photography to become an undercover agent for the FBI (although that would be pretty awesome). And no, I didn't move across the country to join a covenant with a blanket ban on the internet. I'm still alive, I'm still in Virginia, and I'm still 100% intact.
Except, a lot has changed since last year. To avoid running off on a tangent of epic proportions, I'll set this entry up like an FAQ. That way, it should be easy to read, easy to navigate, and easy to skip anything that remotely resembles a snoozefest. :)
Q: What are you doing with your life?!
A: Great question. I guess I should start with how I quit my job at the advertising agency. After months of reflection, I decided that being a full-time commercial photographer wasn't for me, and I desired to pursue a career that I had always thought about doing, but had never made the time to fit into my range of creative interests: Education. So here I am, about three months away from earning a M.Ed. in Student Affairs Practice in Higher Education at the University of Virginia. Which explains why I've been absent in every realm possible.
Q: So, what does this mean? Are you teaching?
A: I wouldn't say I'm teaching as much as I'm educating. Something I've always believed in is providing access to higher education, and I'd like to help late adolescents/young adults succeed in their post-secondary careers. You can call it student development.
Q: Are you quitting photography?
A: Not quite. Photography (and the creative/performing arts, for that matter) is something I could NEVER give up. I sincerely love capturing life as it happens, and I don't regret for a single second how lucky I was to have the opportunity to do it as a full-time career. I just need to scale back my involvement with Fahrenheit Photography and focus on my future in education.
Q: Will you still shoot weddings? Portraits? Events?
A: Yes, maybe, and no. I love shooting weddings. I am absolutely passionate about shooting weddings, and yes, I will shoot your wedding. And while I'm happy to do the occasional portrait and event, I think that I'd rather expend my creative time and energy on what I love: WEDDINGS! With my schedule, I can shoot around 8 weddings a year.
Q: Only 8? Are you sure?
A: I pride myself on giving 110% in everything I do, whether it's in my career, in my personal relationships, or in my business. So yes, 8 weddings a year. But you can bet that those weddings will be damn good!
Q: How will you choose which weddings to shoot?
A: Serendipity. :) I give preference to family and friends, as well as referrals from past clients, mainly because they know how I work and choose me based on that. One of my biggest goals for the next year is to build a stronger relationship with my wedding couples, and to really work with them on their vision for their wedding. I've learned from experience that you just can't do that if you're booking too many weddings on top of a separate full-time job! However, that's not to say I wouldn't take on brand new clients. Shoot me an email, and we'll chat. I just want to make sure I can deliver what you need and want on your special day.
Q: Where are you?
A: Charlottesville, Virginia. But as always, I'm willing to travel if the timing's right.
Q: Do you think you'll ever do photography full-time again?
A: Honestly, I don't think I want to. As I said, I love it and it's a huge part of my identity, but there's just so much more I'm interested in doing throughout my life, like starting an educational non-profit, working at a vineyard, directing a play, making a short film, running a half-marathon (maybe)... I think I'm just fine with doing it part-time. PS. A side effect of this part-time thing might mean this blog gets to see more variety in photos. Non work-related.
Q: Can we see some pics, or are you just going to blabber on this entire post?
A:
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| Seattle, Washington at sunset |
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| Vienna, Austria |
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| Hiking in the Alps for our honeymoon |
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| Oh right, there's that marriage part. Photo credit: JPixx |
Things may remain quiet on the home front til graduation (May 20), but I'll do my best to update here and there. And I am SO looking forward to the summer of weddings!
