Photography by Pati: June 2008

I have been photographing my children for the last 13 years. It is something I have always been deeply passionate about.

For those of you who have ever received my Christmas cards... you know that I take this photography thing seriously!

Last September, both of my brothers asked me to photograph their upcoming weddings. I was terrified... yet willing to give it a shot! (The fact that my brother's were willing to help me pay for a nice digital camera also helped motivate me) .....so I went out and bought the best digital camera we could afford (I was completely new to digital SLR photography) and 2 weeks later… I took a big gulp, and bravely (more like insanely) shot my first wedding.... 1300+ photos in one day! Whew!

My feet were sore... my wrist was dying, but I survived. And I actually managed to do a decent job. Since then, I have been asked several times to do more photography. A few family portrait sessions... and most recently, a few senior portrait sessions. I didn't really think too much of it until very recently.

Just before the senior portrait session this past May, I had said a simple prayer. I asked God how He could use this love of photography in my life.

Within a few days of saying this prayer, I had the sweetest high school senior from my church ask me to take her senior portraits. Again, I took a big gulp! Its one thing to photograph your children over the years... but it's quite another thing to try to photograph and capture someone else's beauty and personality with your camera... ESPECIALLY someone you don't know very well.

I was really nervous, but agreed to take her photos. It actually ended up being a life changing experience for me. For the first time, I realized the amazing potential photography can have in impacting the lives of others. I saw how I could really bless someone's life with it. Senior portraits are a big deal (especially to the senior) and being able to capture the beauty of "who someone is" at that time in their life, was a challenge that really fulfilled me.

Her portraits turned out beautiful... and she loved them. And that felt so wonderful!

As a stay at home mom for the last 13 years, I realized that this passion I have for photography could actually be pursued as a new career opportunity. The entire experience defined what photography has always been about to me... it is simply about capturing beauty!

I still remember shooting my first roll of black and white film. When the prints were developed, there was one photo that literally took my breath away. It was the photo of my daughter Julia…
When I saw this photo for the first time, I honestly felt as if had somehow managed to captured a bit of heaven. It was a moment I'll never forget:

I realized how powerful a camera really was. How it could capture a beautiful moment...forever! A moment that could take your breath away.

Since then, I have always felt like my journey with photography was simply a quest to capture beauty ...a smile, an expression, an emotion, big baby blue eyes, a tender moment. Something that reminds us that Life is Beautiful! And after I said that simple prayer... I realized that I have an opportunity, through photography, to capture beauty for others ....not just for my own family. So I have decided to become a professional photographer... someone who captures beauty for a living.

This new journey comes at an interesting time in my life... My husband Peter recently walked through a very serious form of cancer.... and throughout that season in our lives... there were so many things we learned. Probably the most significant impact it has made was the realization that we have one life... and each day we have is truly is a gift from God.

We must celebrate the life we have! Sometimes in big ways... but mostly in small little moments. Life is full of beautiful little moments! Even in the midst of difficult times.

These moments are what I hope to capture in the lives of others......... and this is what I believe the answer to my little prayer was.

So I share this with you in the hope that you will join me as I "blog" this journey out. Blogs are
a totally new thing to me... but I am excited about it and I invite you to check in often and comment when you can... I would LOVE to hear from you!

And... in honor of my first official blog post---- I wanted to share some of my most cherished photos of my children that I have taken over the years!
They have ALWAYS been my inspiration!

If you have made it this far… WOW! Thank you!

Dream and Believe!
Pati Pakulis