< Photo circa 1980, Water Street, Thessalon, Ontario, Canada>

My photography journey began all the way back in the rural Canadian town of Thessalon, overlooking the banks of the Thessalon River, on a street called Water. It wasn't a photography journey per se, but If you want a snapshot of who I was and who I am today, simply take a walk down Water Street to our two-story white-with-green trim home and curl up in my 2nd story childhood window, my favorite perch. It overlooked that Thessalon River. It was there that I spent hours dreaming and wondering, curious about who I would be when I grew up, where I would live, and what journeys I would take in the decades to come. I was the dreamer sort, full of ideas, ever-positive and hopeful.

EARLY DREAMS | A huge part of who I am today was fostered there, in that tiny Northern Ontario town of 1,700. My free spirit. My creative heart. My dreaming soul. My love of nature - God's incredible creation - full of water, trees, woods, rivers and lakes, was borne and cultivated there. My love for people and a home where hospitality was the norm. My idea of travel sparked by countless foreign missionaries that sat around our kitchen table. My desire to serve and give and share were exemplified on a daily basis by my parents who loved Jesus above all else.

My mother absolutely thought I could be whatever. And she was wise enough to allow me to dream, never once squelching that piece of me that God made on purpose. And so I dreamed. All the time.

ENTREPRENEURIAL DREAMS | Since graduation from college, I've had entrepreneurial dreams swirling around, deep inside. They have taken on various forms. Some months I thought perhaps I'd run a B&B, a bookstore, or a cafe. Other months it seemed that I should start a business to help struggling children. And the days strung in between saw a million other ideas. Possibilities. Hopes. I'm a die-hard optimist, which lends itself to jumping on a lot of bandwagons. 

FAST FORWARD TO FALL 2008 | My friend Catherine and I were having a conversation about the need to someday work again {outside our homes} to provide additional income for our families. I shared that I would love to do something creative where I could set my own schedule, adding that I had no idea what that could be. And without skipping a beat she said, "You should do photography." {I can still hear her voice - she was confident and really thought I could do it. Hmmm.}

FAST FORWARD TO MARCH 19, 2010 | My first ever photo shoot. That same sweet friend emailed me and said she had a friend who was looking for a photographer to capture her three boys in action. "Could she recommend me? Would I like to try?" Without thinking, I said, "YES."

THE DREAM REALIZED | And so my story began - my Water Street Dreams story that is. Storytelling photography. Capturing your stories big and small through my eyes and camera's lens. Stories that draw emotion. Stories that capture your todays so that your tomorrows will come alive for those that follow you.

I remember driving to that first photo shoot, sick to my stomach, hoping I didn't ruin my opportunity to get this business off the ground. Yet at the same time I was bursting with excitement, knowing deep down that I could do it. This could be it. And so the journey began, and continues. Countless photo shoots later a website was developed. Business cards were printed. The word got out that I had started a business.

I did the swan dive off the cliff of my dreams and landed in my ocean called "Water Street Dreams." It would be my joy and honor to capture your story some day soon!