I am a 45 year old wife to my high school sweetheart and mother of two young men, Joshua and Matthew. Josh is 22 and Matt is 20 and they both attend James Madison University. For most of their life I was a “stay at home” mom, doing things on the side that would allow me to be with them as much as possible. When they both were a little older my husband and I had a small software business we ran out of our home in addition to his “real job”, and when we finally let that business go I treated myself to a new camera – my first Nikon. Prior to my entry into the Nikon world in 1997, I was a Konica girl – had been since my first Konica 35 mm camera that I got when I turned 16 years old. Sweet Sixteen and a Konica SLR -isn’t that what every young girl wants? I always walked to a different drummer I guess…..
My mom made me the family photographer when I was quite young, and I will always fondly remember the smell of Polaroid film “developing” right before my eyes. Like magic I watched those photos develop and I was hooked for life! I’ve held everything from the Polaroid cameras, Kodak 110’s, Kodak Disc cameras, and instamatic 35 mms. Getting that first SLR 35 mm at 16 was a dream come true and I’ve been a believer in the recording of lasting memories ever since.
Besides my photography, I love scrapbooking, trolling through shops and antique stores, and lazy weekends with my husband. In my younger days I skiied quite a bit, and love that we’ve introduced our children to the sport also. But living in Virginia isn’t necessarily accessible to the deep powder that Marty and I are both fond of, and getting west for the good stuff isn’t always easy to fit into the busy schedules of Marty, myself and the two college boys.
We have two Border Collies – Connor and Maggie, and two cats – Emmi and Tailor. The Border Collies greet everyone who comes to our home with a friendly sniff (beware!) and the cats disappear until they are sure you are friendly…which, being cats, can take a while for them to figure out…
I am not a very good traveler, my favorite place in the world is Disney World and I have my husband taking me there a couple times a year thanks to the Disney Vacation Club. I hope to justify these jaunts to the magical place when I proudly can take my grandchildren some day too! In the mean time, Marty plays golf all day and I play in the theme parks…we meet for dinner and it’s a wonderful thing. You’ll often see Disney photos on my blog – I can’t resist the magical draw and never leave my camera home on these frequent trips. Marty would love to travel the real world, so I hope you’ll see other places on the blog someday too! I also collect and trade Disney Pins, with a special love of anything Haunted Mansion related!
Speaking of Haunted Mansions, if you know me, you’ll also know I’m a bit of a nut about Halloween. My home transforms in the fall and I love surrounding myself with the excess of it all. It is a creative outlet I share with my sister, and we often will be found picking up the same item in a store and holding it up for the other to consider because it’s so “cool”.
As for my photography, I still shoot Nikon, but the bag of gear has expanded quite dramatically over the years and it is all digital now. I still thrill at just holding a camera and I’m at home behind the view finder….so that is where you will find me most often and you will always see my little smile peeking out from behind the camera when I am in that position.
I hope to see you through my viewfinder very soon!
