Senior Story: Fabian

While I've know Fabian and his family for a few years now, this past year I've had the joy of getting to know Fabian better as I have been a part of his senior year studies.  Fabian loves photography (and writing) so we've been having lots of conversations about the business of photography, photographing people, being a business owner, etc.  If you participated in this year's Holiday Short Stories then you got to meet Fabian as he was my assistant for those two days (what better way to get a crash course in photographing different age kids, different size families, couples, and dogs!).  He is passionate and eager to soak in all the knowledge he can - that is so impressive to me.  When Fabian asked me to do his senior shoot I was thrilled.  As I photographed Fabian that day I would tell him why I was doing what I was doing, explaining the various choices I made and showing him the difference on the back of the camera. It was really cool for me to work that way, since so much of what I do is just in my head and not even something I consciously decide any more... it's just who I am and how I do things.  Since Fabian also loves writing I asked him to share some thoughts about his senior shoot..."I think I've always had an inkling that I wanted to be a photographer. From when I was born up to now, I have always looked at the world differently than most of my peers and it wasn't until I started focusing more on English (specifically, poetry and writing) that I started to hone my creative perception(s) of the world. In a way, I feel like photographers write poetry through their cameras as they illustrate and evoke certain emotions and ideas through their 'immortalization' of people, places, and things. And I want in.As a high school senior who has dabbled in photography already, it's definitely rewarding to have someone be vulnerable enough for you to capture their 'essence' and make something seem beautiful that may otherwise think is not... like me and many others I have photographed. I can understand why so many are hesitant, too, as I went from being the photographer to the photographed. In my experience, I was nervous and wanted everything to be perfect. I also wanted to have all the answers, too, but Ashley assured me that most people wouldn't have all the answers and that it's our job as the photographers to help them fulfill their 'dream shoot.' I learned a lot. Like most photographers, I want to gain more experience so that I may make every shoot run a little more smoothly and give people what Ashley gave me -- a new perspective on photography, life, and myself. So, college, here I come!"