Growing up in a large European family, my childhood consisted of summers in the Azores with my great-grandfather. It was during one of those summers that I ventured upon a photo of my great-grandfather taken 80 years prior. When I saw that photo, I immediately realized how magical and powerful the art of photography really was. 

As a child, I had my fair share of unpleasant portrait photography sessions. I really disliked being forced to pose in stiff, unnatural positions and being told not to smile. Why?  My teeth were huge in comparison to the rest of my face. Go ahead and laugh. I still do. These photos I was forced to partake in didn’t capture the kid that laughed all the time and had a bad case of “ants in her pants.” These sessions didn’t capture the special moments of my childhood, like dancing in the kitchen with my mother or playing a game of UNO. I want to change that.  I want to be THAT photographer who captures those special moments as they are being created, not the forced ones.

Why did I choose photography? For nine amazing years, I worked as a nanny in New York City.  That experience alone was so rewarding and apart from the beautiful friendships I made along the way, it was a great learning experience. As a nanny, I found that parents missed out on important first moments in their children’s lives. I wanted to be able to give those moments to the parents, and see the joy I saw in their children’s eyes.

It was that desire that led the purchase of my very first SLR and my enrolling in classes to better enrich myself with a photography foundation.

Random facts about me:

My favorite subject to photograph is my Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Charlotte. Call me biased, but she really is the sweetest dog ever.  

My maternal grandparents had 10 kids, paternal grandparents 18, but I’m an only child.  Yep, you read that correctly.

I love, love, love to travel. 

I am immensely proud of my Azorean roots.

I LOVE food. 

I am most proud of my mama. 

I love to hug.

I will never, ever ask your child to say “cheese”, so please refrain from using that word.  I’ll explain later.