I love the immediacy of Polaroids, the magical whir of the emerging picture. I was eight when I first picked up a camera, immediately fascinated. Photography seemed destined to be a lifelong passion. But with much regret, I put my camera away in high school, pained by the high environmental costs of the, the chemicals used in development and the wasted paper and film.

I went off to the University of Washington to become an engineer, energized by developing the technical and logical parts of my brain. But as much as I loved my career in engineering, I couldn't seem integrate my aesthetic and political values into my work. Photography still beckoned; I got my first SLR camera as a graduation gift. I still hated the waste, until a technological revolution set me free; going digital in 2004, and getting a digital SLR in 2005, completely rocked my world. Almost zero waste, the immediacy of Polaroids from the old days — I was hooked.

While experiencing my creative resurgence, I also made a major decision to live my values in the work world. In 2005, I became an MBA student in Sustainable Management at Presidio School of Management. I was drawn there to find ways of making positive change in the world, and simultaneously rediscovered my love for photography. I am delighted to be integrating my talents and values into a growing photography business.

What I bring to a photography session is a sense of playfulness, combined with a clear vision of how to document the moment. I am a chameleon — I excel at being invisible in group situations, and I can also direct people into posed shots that still maintain a sense of fun and naturalness. My primary camera equipment is a Canon 20D, and I work with both studio and natural lighting. For fun, I shoot with a Holga, and I still have a weakness for my Polaroid 250 Land Camera, the kind where you time the development, peel apart the film, and pray.