The year was 1990, and there I was, fresh out of the Seventh Grade, ready to start my Summer of fun. My mother, a journalism teacher at a local High School here in San Antonio, was still busy putting finishing touches on the previous term's yearbook, which meant going in everyday to the classroom to work with the students to beat the deadline. One day, for whatever reason, my father was not going to be home while she was away, so she had no choice but to take me with her.

I was more than defiant about having to spend the entire day during MY Summer vacation stuck in another classroom, having nothing to do, and no one to get into trouble with. So I did what any 12 year old boy would do. I started poking around, getting into everything, seeing what cool things I could find to play with.

Low and behold, I happened across a set of 4 VHS tapes (yeah, I just dated myself) entitled "Intro To Darkroom Photography." Well I figured if I had to be stuck in a classroom, what better way to be stuck, than to watch TV all day, right?! After watching the first two tapes, it was all over. I was hooked. No going back now.

I grabbed my mother's Minolta X-370 with a 35mm 2.8, and a few bulk rolls of TMAX film, and I was out the door! But then came the fun part.

For the next two weeks, I begged my mother to allow me to return to the classroom, and be allowed into the room that would change my life forever. The smells, the textures, the lighting, the equipment...I was home...in the darkroom.

Shortly after discovering my love for the art, my mother enrolled me in the Gloria Shields Photo Workshop in Dallas, normally set for High School students. Being the only middle school student in attendance was a bit intimidating to say the least. But, the second we hit that darkroom, I was on cruise control. No more looks of "what the heck is he doing here?"...now they were asking ME for advice and pointers. Needless to say, I felt ten feet tall when I was awarded "Best Beginning Portfolio" in front of the entire workshop.

Since watching the videos, my love for the craft has blossomed into more than I could have imagined. With the help of Peter Hurley and my Headshot Crew family, this is one headshot photographer that is aiming for the stars.

​"If a day goes by without my doing something related to photography, it's as though I've neglected something essential to my existence, as though I had forgotten to wake up."

-Richard Avedon