Britney Patterson

You will appreciate them when you're older. -- My Mother.

I remember our drives to Colorado in vivid detail- I was 10 on our first trip. I sat in the backseat for HOURS, bored out of my mind. I would read and become nauseated. I still get car sick to this day. When we stopped, be it for food, gas, or lodging, I would grab my mother's 35mm film camera and "waste" a roll of her film.

My Mother recently sent me a flat-rate box in the mail full of photos. I stumbled across an envelope stuffed with the images I had taken from every trip to Colorado with her and my Grandfather. They were amazing...

I haven't put a camera down since then, really. When I switched to digital in 2004, I thought I was going to save money by not having to buy film- HA! Hard drives. God bless them.

The goal is not to change your subjects, but for the subject to change the photographer. ~Author Unknown

Throughout high school, I worked with two of the most sought-after wedding photographers in Houston. It is with them that I learned professional shooting and editing skills- Everything from proper lighting, anticipating the right moment, and correct composition, to editing in the Adobe Creative Suite. While not with either of these two photographers, I worked at a local mall in a very well-known, national studio; Studio One-to-One.. I worked as Lead Photographer there and received many raves from clients, as well as repeat clients and word-of-mouth clients.

Also while living in Houston, I worked with a very prominent live music photographer. He also taught an encyclopedia's worth of knowledge to me about the music photography industry. I fell in love. Not with him, but the musical aspect of the photography world! I've been to ONE concert / show in the last 8 years that I wasn't commissioned to be at. I kind of miss "seeing" a concert from the cheap lawn tickets. Maybe I just miss the experience back there... "I can't believe we paid for these!", "At least we can hear them back here?", "Whatever. I am going to see if I can get closer.", and then meandering from the lawn to the front and seeing how long it took to get kicked out.