I adore photography for a couple reasons.

The first reason is that photos have the ability to highlight the beauty in small things. When you capture a still image of something, you are able to take a good, long look at each and every detail. When a bird flies by, it might just seem like a blur of feathers. But if you take a photo, you can study the patterns of the bird’s feathers, see its expression and look at its wings. Capturing a specific second in time allows you to see a million details you overlooked when it actually happened, and some of those details can be breathtaking.

I also love the fact that photography holds the possibility of bringing issues to light and making a difference. For example, when I came back from a medical trip to Burkina Faso, Africa, my pictures of a small baby with a potentially fatal heart condition moved a lot of my friends to consider donating to non-profit organizations.

In particular, I love black-and-white photography. I feel like grayscale photos can be a lot more emotional. I like color shots too, but there’s something about the simplicity in a black-and-white photo that I find striking. Most of the best pictures in my portfolio are black-and-white.

I’ve only been part of the photography culture for a short period of time (I’ve had my camera for a little over a year), but it’s something that I’ve come to love. My friends are pretty tired of being subjects all the time, though!

Say cheese!