The first time someone gave a fuck about my art I was in high school. Told I had an ‘eye’ for taking pictures. I have flip flopped about what I want to do with my life well into my late 20s. Somewhere along the road I quit swinging my proverbial dick around and had a real big issue with calling myself an artist, or even telling people that I could take a decent fucking picture. It felt like I was being ‘a poser’ or a fake and that I really had no idea how to take a photo. Fast forward to me now. I’m going to be 28 in a month. I am finally comfortable calling myself a professional photographer and artist. People are asking me to be part of very intimate moments in their lives. I’m shooting a birth after the new year, have one wedding booked, and another one in the works. I’m so fucking humbled that people give a shit about the art I put into the world. Seriously humbled beyond words. Photography has lifted me up during hard times. It’s that thing I reach for when I need to remember that there is beauty in the world. So thank you to everyone who follows my work, helps me put it into the world, anyone who refers me to their friends, and anyone who lets me be part of something special in their lives. Seriously, thank you so much for giving a shit in the digital world we live in. Everyone has a camera in their pocket at all times, and I am more than grateful that you choose to let me use mine. Thank you for supporting your local artists. -Chels