My earliest experiences with photography began around age 5. I had eye-aiming and tracking problems and hand-eye coordination delays, so as a therapy my mother gave me an old 110 film point and shoot camera and told me I had to "look through the little window and pick something I want a picture of, and hold the camera still and push the button". Needless to say, my first few rolls of film had heads cut off, partial bodies and most were blurry because I couldn't steady the camera but every once in a while I got a photo that I like, and that made me keep trying. The old 110 camera was followed by a 124 and later by a 35mm point and shoot. Rolls of film were earned by doing chores for Mom and inexpensively developed by sending them off in an envelope to a lab. But my skills improved and I was hooked on photography. Being raised by a single mother taught me the value of a dollar. She provided everything I needed, but the extras I had to earn for myself. We created a flyer, and I was now in business, doing yard and garden work in summer and shoveling snow in winter. I was taught to save half of what I earned, and the other half was spent upgrading cameras and equipment, computers and software etc. My first formal training in photography was at Nassau Community College in New York, which had the best facilities and equipment and was within a reasonable commuting distance from home. At the same time I began working for a local camera store that was struggling to survive without the tools or know-how to make the transition to the digital age. Over the next 2 years I revamped their operation, helped them upgrade their equipment, added new services such as scanning of photos and slides to CDs or DVDs, converting VHS tapes to DVD, restoration of old photos, custom Holiday cards with photos etc. The contacts I made at the store through our customers started to bring me photography jobs - business events, holiday parties and Sweet 16s, publicity and family portraits, archival photography and photographing art collections for cataloging. While my work was acceptable, I felt I needed additional formal training to begin my career as a photographer. This brought me to The Hallmark Institute of Photography in the fall of 2012, for an intense 10 month course of study with some of the best photographers in their respective fields of expertise. They pushed me and honed my skills to a professional level, preparing me for success in my chosen profession. T