Good day! My name is Michelle. My Korean name is Seung-Mi (the "eu" of "Seung" is pronounced like the "ou" in "would"). Put the two names together and you get Seung Michelle.
Moving on...
I grew up in front of the camera. My photo-hobbyist mother loved taking pictures of me and I loved having my picture taken. I eventually transferred my ability to be in the center of attention to pursue the entertainment industry and got a bit of television-time. I had always had a natural inclination to entertain and be under the spotlight...you would never find me behind the scenes.
My dreams, goals and much of what I grew up to know about myself began to take a shift when I atypically picked up a newspaper and came across this image taken by Pulitzer Prize winner Renee C. Byer. Chills permeated through my body. My heart simultaneously smiled and ached. After reading the supplementary article I found out it was part of a photo essay. I had never seen a photo essay before nor had I ever heard of photojournalism. My gut had decided for me that I was supposed to be a photographer so I could capture moments like that.
As I started my first year at UC Irvine as a Literary Journalism major, I put my mini-revelation on the back burner.
I eventually purchased my first DSLR and began to awkwardly and uncomfortably expose myself as an amateur photographer. I took my camera everywhere and took pictures of everything. I faced more discouragement than auspiciousness, more insecurities than confidence...but I was determined to get better.
I have been shooting professionally for the past year now and have been blessed with so many neat opportunities. Whether I'm capturing moments and producing images at a wedding, for non-profits, on the street, or in the studio I am exercising a God-infused creativity and craft. It's incredible the joy that I receive from actively pursuing a gift that doesn't require me to be at the center of it.
I am still developing my style and I thank you for partaking in the beginning stages of this process. I disclaim that you will see many changes (good and bad but hopefully more good) in the next coming months and years as I grow as a person and a photographer. I don't consider myself an artist because I am not creating anything new or beautiful out of nothing. I essentially take what is available and attempt to visually maximize it's content.
Maybe I will end up doing all these things, maybe not...but I'm not worried about it because God always exceeds my greatest hopes, dreams and expectations.
Look what he did to a girl who never thought would spend a day behind a camera...
I would much rather show than tell although there is much to tell…maybe I’ll come back to this and write captions.
Before
During
After
I hope you enjoyed these series of pictures from my short and even sweeter trip to Switzerland. Now it is time for my jet-lag-resistant beauty sleep.
This image was taken in 2007 during my first impromptu street shoot. His name is Ivan & I will forever be thankful to him for being my first subject.
So many pictures from my trip to Switzerland!
I will try my best not to be too terribly behind in posting…even though I already am.
Looking through some old pictures from the year I bought my first DSLR made me realize how in love I am with culture and diversity. Despite my green photo skills, I still managed to get a shot or two or few worth bringing to the foreground. The purity of a virgin visual documenter is invaluable...
I go back and forth between rich, lush colors…
& light colors that create an ethereal mood…
My thoughts: It is ideal to stay consistent with mood throughout a shoot but sometimes there are occasions when an image just looks better a certain way and thus gets stamped as the outlier image. My dilemma is often whether...
She remembered the first time she encountered a so-called Christian fundamentalist yell at the top of his lungs a list of people who are going to burn in the afterlife. She was absolutely livid because these representatives of her same faith were just wrecking it! Today, a man decided to “warn the lost souls on...
Check out a UCI slideshow that Steve and I worked on about a Clown 101 Class…
And this picture was taken by Steve…classic, I know.
