Posted by Joanna Strohn on June 27, 1999 at 14:48:51:
Am I really the first? Oh my! OK ... here goes!
Photography Background
I took my first photographs with my grandfather's Brownie but my first love and passion was the written word. When I married, to another writer, my husband and I supplemented our income with freelance articles. To make them more salable, we added photography to our skills.
In our divorce he got the cameras and everything else; I got our son. Photography was relegated to family photos but the skills I developed served me well as I went on to a career in advertising for a Fortune 100 company. I was fortunate to work with many top photographers, designers and illustrators.
My interest in photography rekindled when I became an online manager and community producer. The web was new and graphics were just beginning to become important when I began shooting with a digital camera.
Life is a series of milestones generally best recognized through hindsight. With me, one milestone is a single photograph. I realized I had gone beyond capturing an image to capturing the emotion behind the image. I was so excited looking at it I trembled and got goosebumps!
That image led to a quest to learn more about photography and then to enrolling in the New York Institute of Photography. I was hooked. From digital photography I've expanded into 35mm photography and into doing my own darkroom work. It didn't take long to begin earning income from my photography.
While words remain my first love, photography is now a close second. When possible, I combine both in my freelane activites.
Personal
I'm self-employed and work from home. This allows me to care for my almost 89-year-old mother. We're owned by three cats, including my 20-year-old Kit Kat, the King of the house.
My son has followed his dreams and is well-established in a career he loves. Of all the honors I've received, the best and most meaningful is his "Thank you, Mom. I love you." There's no success as joyous as the success of one's child.
My passion is motorcycling and I have two bikes, a 1993 Honda GoldWing Aspencade (Dreamrunner) and a 1988 BMW K75S (Dreamweaver).
My hobbies include the garden oasis I've created in our back patio. A friend says it's too bad I can't claim it as a medical deduction for the good it's done my mother. We look forward each day to seeing how it's changed.
I love to cook and collect cookbooks. To balance the inevitable calorie count and computer tush, I try to work out at least three-five times a week.
The Sales Pitch
Freelancers are always looking for more work (grin). I'm available for photography, writing and other assignments. I'm also willing to serve as a guide and photographer's assistant for other photographers visiting Arizona.