I always had an interest in photography, I can remember my mom giving me her old film camera when I was about ten. I immediately took it and went out in the fields behind our house. I took pictures of flowers, ladybugs and dirt! I loved it so much! Now fast forward a few years and I'm in college, I decide I want to be a nurse so I start taking the courses to apply for nursing school. As I am looking over some of the classes required, I notice I need a few art classes and what do you know they offer black and white photography! I signed up for beginning black and white and from that first class on I was hooked. I remembered what I had loved so much about photography as a kid, except this time I took more pictures of people and less pictures of dirt! ;-) I enrolled in every photography course that college offered! I loved the creative aspect of developing my own film and printing my images but it never occurred to me that I could make a career out of it, so I continued with the nursing prerequisites. Now if you don't know already nursing schools are highly impacted and it is extremely hard to get in to their programs. I met my best friend, Tana, in anatomy lab in the spring of 2003. She was almost finished with all the prerequisites while I was just beginning. I watched as she applied to school after school and never could get in. This process of her applying and not getting in went on for more than three years. So watching her receiving disappointment after disappointment was a little discouraging for me. After completing all but two classes, I decided if she couldn't get in then what would be different if I started applying so I decided to drop out of school.
During the two years I took off, I moved to Sacramento, moved back to Monterey, got married, had a beautiful baby girl, got divorced, and moved back in with my amazing parents. After all the chaos settled, I had time to really think about what I wanted out of my life. Having my daughter sparked my love for photography again but this time something clicked! I really thought long and hard about starting a business in wedding and portrait photography. I didn't know anything about the business side of photography, much less where to start but I was determined to see if it might be possible to make a living with it. Then I got a call from Tana...she had just received an acceptance letter from a nursing school and she was starting in 6 weeks! I was beyond excited for her but now I was at a crossroads, do i pursue my love for helping people with the slight chance of getting into school or pursue my love of art with absolutely no knowledge of running my own business? The only thing I could do was research every aspect of a photography business and weigh my options, so I started trolling the internet for local photographers and making cold calls hoping someone, anyone, would be willing to help me. And this is where a very generous Christ-like man came into my life. Mike Steelman was a member of my church who always said hi to my family, always shook my father's hand and was always so genuinely friendly. I had come across his website a few days before and thought he looked familiar but I couldn't place where I knew him from. Then he walked past me in the foyer and I put two and two together. I immediately called him and made an appointment to come by his office with what I told him were a "few questions" when in reality i showed up with a notebook full! Sorry Mike! He was more than willing to sit and answer every single question and I was so grateful!
Mike has since become one of my best friends and we have been shooting weddings, engagement sessions, and family sessions together ever since. He was the first person who truly believed in me and was willing to take a chance on me. He has invited me to second shoot with him on so many occasions and without his generosity I wouldn't have a portfolio. I am forever in debt to his kindness and I hope one day I can inspire someone as much as he has inspired me. In the two years since that first meeting, he has taught me so much not just in photography but in life. He has set an example of how a Godly person should act and treat others and he has set the bar high for all the prospective guys in my life. He is the first one to keep me accountable in every aspect of my life and someone I trust wholeheartedly. So Thank You Mike for being a huge influence and a true friend. Thank you for having guts and letting a complete stranger tag along with her camera and single lens. Thank you for being completely honest with me about EVERYTHING! You may never realize what a blessing you have been to me and how honored I am to call you a friend!
One random fact about Mike: He loves to take self portraits with any camera left within his reach so never leave your camera alone with him or you will end up with this...
