Canon in the Canyon
Summary
Photographer moves from Arizona to Clay Center, shares her love of capturing photos and stories
“[When] I started learning photography, I was self taught. There was a place called Sabino Canyon in Tucson, Arizona where I lived before I moved to Clay Center [Kansas]. I was hiking in the canyon one day taking photos, and this older lady asked me if I could sit on the bench with her while I was adjusting the settings on my camera. She and I got to talking, and it turns out she was an author and did publishing. I told her that I really liked photography and writing, and we talked for a good 45-minutes before she ended up hiking back down the canyon. But before [she left], she said something like ‘I wouldn’t be surprised if you get published within the next three-or-so years.’ and then, wouldn’t you know, in the next ‘three-or-so years’ I’d be published in two different news publications.
During the Pandemic, I was hiking in the canyon again— that was a really formative place for me; I really loved that place. I was trying to take photos of the canyon to show my friends and I just kept getting hooked on it. I would say ‘oh this is a cool shot’, or ‘this bug looks cool’. From there, it really improved. I got my first DSLR on my 17th birthday and I have taken pictures with it ever since. There are so many different things you can do with photography. I’ve done sports, I’ve done nature, I’ve done portraits of people, I’ve taken photos of bugs, birds, and countless landscapes. There is so much you can do with a single camera body and lens; it’s endless possibilities. Once you have the body and lens, you have the key to so many different doors that you can explore.
[My favorite thing about photography is] going to so many events, and meeting so many cool people. Through the photography and writing community I’ve met several state legislators. It’s weird to meet people that you usually only see on TV. I think meeting different people is my favorite part. I’d say [to others] just get out and do it. I have only one camera and lens and it's a cheap budget camera setup, but I still get really good shots. I’d say learn your camera and get out there. Experience is the only way you can do it. You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take, so if you don’t get out there and just learn, you're not gonna get any better.”
Comments
Post a commentFlint Hills Writing Project Clay Center Community High School
Journalism classes at the high school in Clay Center Kansas
I really enjoyed reading about the process of how someone finds their way to where they are meant to be. Thank you for sharing!
I love the opening story of you meeting the older woman in the canyon, the conversation you had with her, and her prophetic statement about you being published in the next couple of years. Canyons have a mystical nature, and meeting this sage who predicts your bright future adds to that sense of awe, wonder, possibility and magic. And then you seamlessly weave in the very real ways that you get out with your camera to capture the world around you and how those opportunities with your camera have led you to such interesting people and places.