My story
Hi, I'm Tina, I live in Kansas City with my husband, Chris. Capturing memories is something I've been obsessed with since I was a kid. I'd watch my dad (who is also a photographer) carry his camera around everywhere we went as a family to capture all of our memories and it really inspired me to do the same. My parents would buy disposable cameras for me and my sister when we'd go on roadtrips and I would excitedly use up the whole roll before getting to our destination, not wanting to miss a single moment.
(photos my dad took of my sister and I as kids, the photo in the middle cracks me up b/c of my sisters expression, she is NOT a fan of rodents and it shows in this photo)
Growing up, I could sit and look through old family photos for hours. Asking my parents about each one and about the people in my family whom I never got to meet. It would feel like I was time traveling and getting to connect with these important people in our family who were no longer with us. I enjoyed the more candid images because it felt like I was getting a real glimpse of that person and getting to know them a little bit more.
(my dad's side of the family | my dad getting his haircut by his uncle | my dad's side of the family)
As a teenager I started taking photos of all of my mom's daycare kids just for fun (she ran a daycare out of our home), I loved photographing candid moments of them playing and capturing each of their own unique and cute little personalities. I feel like this is what really piqued my interest into candid photography and wanting to preserve these moments.
(photos I took in high school of the daycare kiddos)
Aside from photography, my other passion is traveling, especially places near the ocean. I love exploring new places and staying in unique and well designed hotels and airbnbs, they inspire me with my own home decor. My husband and I are on a never-ending motels and diners tour because we're both obsessed with retro motels and diners. It makes roadtrips even more exciting when you happen upon an old diner that's actually open and you can grab a bite on the road. I have yet to travel outside of North America and have only been on roadtrips around the U.S. and Canada but have a long list of places outside of North America that I can't wait to visit someday, including Italy, Greece, Morocco, Ireland, New Zealand, Iceland, etc. I love bringing my cameras (digital and analog) on all of our trips to document everything we see and do. A couple of my favorite places to visit have been the Pacific Northwest, (Oregon and Washington have the most beautiful coastline), and New Mexico.
(Chris and Me on the Oregon Coast on film)
(some of my favorite motels and diners we've been to, from left to right:
Chris at Phoenicia Diner, in Phoenicia, NY | booths at Phoenicia Diner | Chris at Blue Swallow Motel in Tucumcari, NM | our room at Amigo Motor Lodge in Salida, Colorado)
I love spending time with my family, being an aunt to my little nieces is my favorite role in life, I enjoy treasure hunting for vintage home goods, I'm an enneagram 4 which means I feel things deeply, enjoy making things beautiful, love having deep and meaningful conversations, and strive to live a purposeful and authentic life. I feel the most alive when I'm being creative, traveling or hanging out with the people I love. I believe what makes me a good photographer is that I'm empathetic to others feelings and am able to capture peoples true personalities because of it.
(Me with my sweet and adorable little nieces, being an auntie make me so happy, as you can tell)
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