Photography is more than just an Instagram edit. It's more than just the square picture you post with the cute filter. Photography is raw, real, genuine, emotionally charged, and refreshing to the eye. You see, photography is more than just taking a picture on your phone and calling it good. Photography literally means "to paint with light." True photography is an art. Light is the paintbrush, the screen is the canvas, and the person behind the shutter is the artist.

I wasn't always interested in this kind of art. I thought photography was overrated and that anyone could get behind a camera and produce a good image.

I was wrong.

Photography is a subject to be learned but never mastered. Even the professionals who have been capturing moments for decades still discover new things every time they step behind the lens. You can be known and renowned as a master photographer, but the art itself is ever-evolving, always inspiring its students to continually improve and better themselves with each photo session.

I first started using a handheld camera when I was 12-years-old. I took pictures of anything and everything I found interesting. I was fascinated. When I was 15, my parents bought me my first professional camera (a Nikon D7000), which I still have to this day. That was the year I began to try my hand at professional portraits. When I was 16, I purchased more lenses, which gave me greater flexibility in my photography. It was also that year that I decided I wanted to minor in photography in college.

And here I am now, sophomore year, finishing up my minor next semester. And I love it.

I love hiking mountains, arriving at the top, and being astonished by the beauty. Being able to capture that memory forever through my lens entrances me. I find joy in taking snapshots of friends in their candid moments of laughter and action, giving me the ability to look back at the pictures and remember exactly what was going on in that very moment. Doing portrait sessions gives me a thrill. I adore capturing my subjects' personalities, in their laughter and in their seriousness. I get excited looking at the pictures through my camera screen, and even more excited once I have them on my laptop for the editing process.

And like I said before, photography is an ever-evolving art. I'm better now than I was a year, a month, even a week ago. With each time I pick up my camera, I discover something new. The creative side in me flourishes and blooms. Through my lens, I can envision a scene in my mind and make it a reality with the press of a button.

Photography is more than just posting an artsy picture on your Instagram feed. It is a passion, a lifestyle, a language of its own for the creative population such as myself. I'm so thankful that I was given the opportunity to pour into this interest and pursue it both professionally and academically. I'm forever grateful for the friends and family I have who support me in this hobby and passion of mine. And though I know that not everyone has the same love for the art that I do, I hope that one day everyone will appreciate its beauty in a way that goes much deeper than simple aesthetics.