Worth A Thousand Words

When I bought my new Nikon D40 digital SLR camera a few weeks before I left for India in 2007 I really had no idea what I was about to create. Ever since the high school days of my Olympus OM-10, a camera for which I had saved my dollars for months and months to buy before my move to Finland, photography has always been something that I found intriguing - being able to capture a moment in time through your own unique perception and then share it with the world was and idea that always amazed me.

Before I left for India I took a couple of my "muse walks" through the parks of Minneapolis and around the lakes on uptown, taking snapshots of whatever captured my attention. I started to practice using the settings on my camera and started taking a variety of shots during the day and at night. I was totally getting into my new toy. When I finally arrived in India I took my camera with me literally everywhere I went - to work, site seeing, morning walks, and especially on my monthly trips to various countries. My camera suddenly became a direct extension of my body - a somewhat permanent fixture attached to my right hand like some sort of assistive apparatus... and I loved it :o)

Over the course of my 12-month expatriate assignment I took over 14,000 pictures - or, as my Indian friends call them, "snaps" (short for snapshots). "Over 14,000 ??" You say. Yes. And many of them can be found in my online Picasa galleries. Nearly each adventure, event, trip, etc., got some sort of attention from my camera. If Michael showed up at a celebration or function you could assume he'd had his camera, and all of my expat friends eventually grew accustomed to having their picture taken all the time. I figured this assignment in India was such a unique opportunity - I didn't want to miss out on the chance to capture as much of it as I could!

Now the fun part: those pictures are becoming part of my present life because they help to showcase much of the beauty and splendor that I was privileged to experience during my worldly travels. I am so excited to be assembling photo books, greeting cards, framed prints, and custom photo gifts using so many of these photos. My first photo book, The Colors of India, was released in May, and soon followed The Children of India, and most recently, Inspiration from the World, a photo book which has expanded into three lines of photo greetings cards and prints.

My Mom and I have been hitting the art fairs recently and my photos are a hit! I sell my cards, books and prints while my Mom sells custom-made bracelets and cards, and we get to talk to people so I can tell them the stories behind the pictures. I've also found a local store in Bemidji to sell my card lines and will be a featured artist in the Bemidji Art Walk in October. In Minneapolis I've gotten the nod to display my prints in a popular coffeehouse as well as an art gallery in the warehouse district. Great fun!

If you'd like to check out my new line of cards and prints, simply follow this link. Until I get my PayPal link uploaded you can order cards or prints via my page as well. Check it out.

Funny how certain things in life seem to "find you" sometimes, isn't it? For this, and so many other things, I am grateful. My photography has allowed me to share my experiences and stories with so many people in ways I never thought of - how cool is that.

Hope you're having a wonderful summer!

The Ambassador of Goodwill

Let me show you the world through my eyes.