Why I Do This

What Started This Whole Thing
& Why I Still Do It

Photography started out as a casual hobby. I was divorced
with almost-grown children and I found myself at loose ends.
Photography was just something to keep me busy and out of
the bars -- at least at first.

I bought a simple point and shoot camera. Before long I enrolled myself in a great photography class, then another, then another.
Old signs, railroad tracks, and empty buildings took on a
whole new interest. I noticed things I never noticed before. I began to look at the world with
photography in mind - studying angles and the magic of light
and the effect it has on the finished photograph.

After a while, I got into photos of people -- especially
children.

At first I would borrow neices and nephews, or other children ...
experimenting with backgrounds, lighting, and photography
techniques. As they played in the yard or on the back porch in the
hose and I would happily snap away. I was amazed that I didn't
take more pictures of my own children when they were little. It
was so much fun! I suppose I was too busy making a living and
dealing with the day to day circumstances to see the humor and
the art that was around me back then.

All of a sudden brushing teeth, and going to bed were photo
opportunities! As were other ordinary activities, like watching
television or waking up in the morning. Everyone got used to
seeing me with my camera in hand. I never left the house without
it -- I still don't. Before long I think they forgot that I was "Aunt
Lottie" and began to think of me as, "that crazy lady with the
camera"!