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.
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...
Week of Action. Finally, UCI gets some. Check out the deets.
I cannot wait to show you the rest…
Today, the Black Student Union organized a silent protest in show of solidarity. Check out the article published on the UCI page here.
In between study sessions, I decided to go to the Gateway Study Center and snap some shots of my fellow Anteaters studying away! It was packed and looked like an academic slumber party.
Good luck everybody. Just a few more days until break!!
Last week was a nutzo week. You know those times in your life when everything you are involved in hits its peak and when it rains…oh baby, it POURS. Well, that, my friend, is the repercussion of busy-ness and overcommitment at its worse. Rock Harbor hosted a worship event called Justice Now and I wasn’t...
