Gem in i Photography and Graphic Design: Founded in Florida

Since I can remember, I've always somehow been intrigued by photography. Long before I considered ever actually being a photographer, I was always taking random pictures of my daughter. But that's normal right? All parents do it. Except, it was always me during family functions or outings with a camera pressed against the bridge of my nose and one eye closed, snapping every available shot that I could. I still never considered being a professional photographer, although my father was a professional photographer during my youth and well into my teenage years. I didn't care about lighting, pose compositions, exposure, distraction in backgrounds, depth of field or even if subjects were 'picture ready.' It was fun for me, pure entertainment, nothing more.

Always a lover of the newest gadgets, point and shoot cameras were my thing well....because they were easy to operate. If I didn't have a camera I used my phone, if I didn't have a phone I used a camcorder. Either way, I wasn't missing an opportunity to preserve a memory. Very seldom did I take pictures of animals, random people or beautiful scenery - - so I thought.

My family traveled to Florida in the year 2010. At that time, we were what I call 'Florida Addicts.' It wasn't enough that we'd traveled to Florida the previous year with my brother and his fiancé. We wanted more but this time we took our 5 year old daughter, who is now 10 years old. Someone once said jokingly to my husband and I, "You guys do know that there are more places to travel than Florida?" We laughed it off because we didn't care. It was beautiful and something new considering we were for the most part travel virgins. We tend to stick to what we know. Kind of like going to a restaurant repeatedly and ordering the same thing from the menu each and every time with no regrets.

Florida wasn't just a place to visit though, it was an awakening for me. I discovered subliminally that I was born to be a photographer and that I had the ability to capture the smallest of detail in my mind and convey that same image in written form. Now, whether photography and writing were supposed to be a hobby or a profession was the blurred line. Either way, creativity was taking its course in the Sunshine State.

I would like to share some lines from a descriptive essay that I wrote after traveling to Florida for a second time:

My gray world turns baby blue in a matter of three hours. Petal soft clouds seem close enough to touch, while I float to another universe. As the feet of this vessel ripple the pavement, wide eyes cram every opening, anticipating the unexpected. Driving to my reserved purlieu, June’s elements glimmer the lush green Queens that line the busy strip. As I inhale this serene place, amnesia begins to set in, and home is extracted from my mind. The need to unwind hangs about my thoughts so I pull into a restaurant for a cocktail. I order the Lava Flow; a tropical drink infused with Malibu coconut rum, fresh strawberries, bananas, pineapple juice and delicious coconut cream. When the glass meets the table, the sun gulps the frost revealing a mixture of red and gold hues marbled with vibrant orange blossom. A crown of sugar, a sweet pineapple and a cerise strawberry adorn the top of the glass. I sit back, place my feet on a violet wicker stool, and take it all in. © Prestigious Poetry. All Rights Reserved.

Are you there yet? Can you taste it? Can you feel what I felt? Can you see it?

If you can't, here's a little push:

Clearwater Beach, Tampa FL

Clearwater Beach, Tampa FL

The evening glare is like a rainbow moonstone, captivating and full of mystery. In the coral and steel blue yonder, a great white Egret, now just a shadow with an S curved neck, migrates toward the light, with her supper flapping between the presses of her bill.