Photography: Art, Life, and Individualism: Playing in the Pool

THE LIFE OF A PHOTOGRAPHER

A true SoCal kid at heart, I had to grow up fast. No more was I playing on the sun warmed beaches; no more was I sporting bleach blonde hair with a tan so dark I was sometimes mistaken for being Mexican. Nope…I couldn’t be a kid anymore; I had to become a man. I graduated high school early and a few days later, I was shipped off to basic training. Time to man up and put those childish things behind. I traded my SoCal hair ‘style’ for a buzz cut; instead of running up and down the beaches throwing a Frisbee, I was running through the forest of Fort Jackson throwing grenades. Like I said, I had to grow up fast. January 2001 marked my 18^th birthday…I graduated January 31^st and was marching in formation on February 6^th. My board shorts and Reef sandals were replaced with BDUs and combat boots. After basic and my advanced individual training, I headed to Fort Campbell, home of the 101^st Airborne Division.

While in Fort Campbell, I deployed multiple times in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. I received my Combat Action Badge and lost some good friends but I did learn that we as a nation take life WAY to granted…like clean water, food, and decent education. While deployed, I witnessed what life is really like. Children starving, roads littered with trash, dead animals, and IEDs…It was hell on earth. After serving my country for as long as I have, I believe that it is finally time for me to do something that I love doing….photography. It’s about time that I found something in life worth doing; worth getting out of bed for (minus my family, I really didn’t have anything).

And this is where I am today…Photographing everything that I see, whether it be people, places, or things, my view finder has seen it all. Who is Killin Lush you ask…well that is my alter ego…Killin Lush is the side of me that I had to so abruptly had to give up on when I joined the military. Killin Lush is playful, young at heart, and enjoys life to the fullest. Killin Lush doesn’t worry about the future and lives one day at a time. This is my creative side, the side that wants to make art with a camera and a bag full of lenses. This is the side that no one gets to see that isn’t close to me…the side of me that isn’t affected by the atrocities that I have seen…this is the real me.

Photography: Art, Life, and Individualism

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Playing in the Pool

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