I transferred here, to MSU-Bozeman, as a theater arts
student and as a painter. I started at MSU as a film major, then I took
my first photography class, ever. Kyle Bajakian was my instructor. I
knew nothing about photography, but was eager to learn. He really
encouraged me, even though most of my peers had at least taken a high
school photography class and understood a lot more than me. I spent
every waking moment shooting and in the dark room. Kyle introduced me to
Sally Mann and Diane Arbus. I was fascinated by their dark and dreamy
worlds. Soon I began to fall in love with the darkroom, the smell of the
chemicals, the magic of developing, and the late night camaraderie that
formed there. As I moved through 103, I felt my brain slowly wrapping
around the lessons, the learning of the "rules" of photography and how
you can bend them sometimes. I began to recognize what made a photograph
beautiful, to me, and what made a photograph universally appealing. I
started realizing that a great photograph can make you FEEL. I want to
make great photographs.
My t.a. later pulled me aside and
made me admit that I was going to be a photo student. Thanks to Madison
Perrins, later that semester, I officially declared my double major.
I love taking and making photos. I love the use of story telling. I
feel that stories in photos are like a treasure hunt. You really have to
LOOK at the photo and try to put yourself in the photographer's shoes.
You have to TRY to imagine why or what spurred the framing, the content,
the color (or the lack of) in each picture. I love the mystery of it. I
love the collecting aspect of it. I love (and am addicted to) the
feeling that you get when you capture that one image, that one with the
intangible. That one image is what spurs my work forward. Lately, I have
been really amazed by Holly Andres' work and use of color, and I am so
excited to start using color in my school work. It's been two years of
black and white. Get me out of Kansas. I'm ready for Oz.
