As a photographer, living in the moment can be incredibly hard to do. Often people will tell me that I need to put the camera down and experience life for what it is, rather than being so focused on taking a photo.

To some degree, I do believe that we millennials need to work more consciously to live in the moments we are given and be there fully – be there and be present. But, for someone like me, the idea of sacrificing that captured moment and not being able to keep forever, often comes second.

My love for photography started at a very young age, and over a decade ago, when I received my first camera as a birthday gift. That tiny purple Polaroid "point-and-shoot" digital camera went everywhere with me, from the backyard of my childhood home to the top of the John Hancock Building in NYC and back. To this day - despite how much I *cringe* at the photos – they are still part of my journey as a creative individual.

2012Concrete Jungle NYC || Details Unknown

After the tiny purple polaroid, I was gifted another camera, a Canon Powershot. It was something a little bigger, with more megapixels and zoom power than I needed as a freshman in high school. This camera saw other parts of my life as I carried it on my first Photo Walk of Downtown Detroit, Chicago, and Ann Arbor.

2013Flowers in Detroit || Details Unknown

My junior year, I look the leap. I applied, interviewed, and joined the yearbook staff and instantaneously understood that I had been doing this wrong all along. I held my first DLSR camera and went running. I photographed every varsity football game, every crowning for King and Queen, and other major events for the public school I belonged to. I’ve been in love with it ever since.

As a self-taught photographer, I’ve been given so many opportunities from weddings to house shows alike. Capturing a single moment in time and being able to share that later has always held a special place in my heart.

Below are a few of my very favorites over the last few years.

2014 Embrace Her || CANON EOS 7D ISO 1600 1/60 F/2.8

2014 to-get-her forever || CANON EOS 7D ISO 125 1/83 F/2.8

2016 Dogleg Chase - After Christmas Xtravaganza || CANON EOS T5 ISO 3200 1/166 F/3.5

2016Great Expectations || CANON EOS T5 ISO 3200 1/166 F/3.5

2018 - Somewhere Between / Maybe I'm Just Trying to Find || iPhone 6S BACK CAMERA ISO 25 1/120 F/2.2

From the first time a mother sees her daughter on her wedding day to the moment where a musician fills a room with beautiful music, you will find me there with camera in hand. At the end of the day, the best camera you have is the one in your pocket.

For a link to the platform that showcases the camera in my pocket, click here. At the end of the day, it does not matter what you shoot with, it's how you shoot it.