New Beginning, New Venture

For those of you who have stumbled upon my little section of cyberspace, welcome. Please excuse the dust, this is still a work in progress. But, I am really glad you’re here.
My purpose?
Entertain. Inspire. Share. Photograph.
My story?
In March 2009 I decided to pick up my Kodak Z650 point and shoot camera for the first time in months and start taking pictures. My goal? Take at least 1 photo a day and upload them for a year in the hopes that I could learn a little more about myself and photography. Little did I realize this was a passion in the making for me. The pictures began to consume my hours, my days, my life. I’d sit at work planning my photo shoot of the day. When the photos were done and processed I’d upload to flickr, facebook, twitter. I wanted an audience! I joined photography groups online, read photography blogs, did google searches and soaked in as much information as I could to improve my beginner skills.
I was a sponge.
I learned.
I grew.
About two months into my photo a day project I hit a wall. My little point and shoot camera was not enough anymore. It had limitations. I needed a fancy DSLR. I wanted better depth of field, larger zoom, more control! I started saving. and saving. and saving.  All the while I continued taking pictures with my Z650 and tried to hone in on my Photoshop editing skills instead of the technical ones.
Then in May 2009, about 3 months into my project, life took an interesting turn. My husband Brendan (who I will refer to from now on as “The Calmer” because he is the peaceful force in our home) and I got the exciting news that we were expecting our first child. We were ecstatic, and it made my desire for that DSLR even more important. I needed a fabulous camera to take fabulous family photos. As an early baby gift, my parents shockingly generously bought me my DSLR, a gorgeous Nikon D90.  At the same time, my morning sickness took full swing and I could barely function at my day job let alone take pictures.  The morning sickness whisked away my passion to photograph.
I dropped the photo a day project that same month.
I figured my passion would return once the baby arrived.
No worries.
Until September.
In September, after multiple abnormal ultrasounds we lost our baby, a girl, at 20weeks pregnant. It’s a long heartbreaking story and I won’t go into the details. We didn’t get to know her for long but we knew she was beautiful. Her name was Bella. Bella Rose. And it’s because of her that I have my passion back. After her passing I needed something to keep me going. Keep me alive. Keep me strong. I picked my D90 back up and started shooting. I want to capture it all. Every little detail. Every moment.
I hope to share my moments here. I am excited to start a new photography project or two in the coming weeks and tell you more about them.  I also want to start building a photography portfolio. I have my first mother/son photo shoot in a week and a half and I can not wait!  I would love to be able to one day turn this hobby into a side business capturing the moments of others. Friends. Acquaintances. Family.  I hope you’ll take the time to stop by, add me to your blog reader, leave lots of comments and tell me what I’m doing right or doing wrong.
I still have a lot to learn.
But I think I’m on my way.
And I have Bella to thank for that.