And so it begins....

A good friend and colleague suggested I start my own blog, and I figured it was time I take her sage advice.

As usual, insecurites prevented me from moving forward with this idea, thinking I didn't have anything of consequence to say. But a recent stab at writing blogs for The Denver Post's Room Section, as well as collaborating with other photographic minds to maintain posts at One Day, One Picture, has given me the experience and encouragement I needed to carve out my own piece of the internet pie. What I've enjoyed most about participating in these forums is the chance I get to interact with visitors who leave comments and share their thoughts and ideas. I look forward to having the same kind of candid discussions on this blog which will be more personal and dearer to my heart.

I thought the blog would also be a great way to chronicle a new and exciting time in my life: my transformation from a print journalist to a photographer.

This coming April will be my first year anniversary of taking on photography to supplement my 12-year career as a reporter for The Denver Post. The shock of my mother's sudden death at the age of 48 in 2005 sent me down a dark path inside my soul. To reclaim some sense of self and learn how to appreciate a world that no longer had my mother in it, I turned to photography. I bought my first digital camera, a Canon Rebel XTi, and I took a digital photography class with Denver Darkroom. Less than a year later, I am owner of a burgeoning company I named "Picture Your World Photography." I have a business website, picture-yourworld.com where people can purchase my photos or book my services, and I shoot events and portraits during my evenings and weekends. I hope to one day shoot for the Denver Post as well and be one of the first staffers to have both a byline and photo credit showcasing my work.

Photography is more than a momentary saving grace to overcome the hardship of my mother's death. It is now a driving passion that motivates and inspires me to see each day with a new set of eyes, a photographer's eyes...always in search of the best moments that "Picture Your World." I invite you to join me in this journey of reclamation and renewal.