Photographs are a place for emotions to live.

I learned the skills of the trade in a college course. I was in my exploration phase and it was a class that offered a skill to be learned. Totally my thing, learning something new and cool. I started capturing trees actually. I wasn't an aspiring artist by any means, but I enjoyed capturing the curves and lines of a tree. Each different type of tree seemed to express a different character. I had a huge imagination so lines and curves looked more like expressions of character.

Once I started on photographing people, I just never quit. I stretched myself into all kinds of people photography. At this point, I was just out to acquire the most skill I could to replicate magazine works. Magazines were the epitome of people photographs. Colors, lines, subject, lighting and props came together to create a balanced image that captured anyone and everyone.

This was a big, confusing goal. I replicated all sorts but could not capture the balance I was looking for. And what was the balance? No clue. This took me on a long journey. I never quite equated my life to photography, never claimed it to be my career or even my passion. It was the side thing that I couldn't let go of. I definitely couldn't let it go because even without a camera, I still found myself photographing in my mind. Of course, if it was on my mind, I would act on it.

The technical side of photography has always been a drag for me. I didn't like numbers and codes. In fact, I didn't even like the camera. It was way too technical for me. I remember learning about shutter speed and aperture, iso and focal length. If there was a more simple tool to capture pictures the way I wanted it to, I would have happily took it up but my class required a camera so there it is, I had a borrowed camera for the first 5 years of my photography journey.

I didn't come to appreciate the camera and all its tools until I found myself trying to solve questions in my work. When a problem was too complicated, I was keen on finding a simpler way to do things. Thus, I acquired a lot of my photography skills through the desire to solve problems in my photography.

The most vital part of my photography journey came when I finally reached the problem of meaning. Creating meaning, or capturing meaning. In school, I learned to read emotions and feelings from images. I learned to see beyond expressions and utilize different tools to create the balance I was looking for. This led me to learning the skill to connect, creating and capturing it.