Hello fellow Steemians.
I figured I would just jump in and write a little about myself. My name is Crystal Lawson and I recently started a business for photography and marketing services. I was inspired long ago by a photographer named Barbara Young who traveled to the Bahamas and took pictures of local people. I wasn't so interested in her photographs until one day when she came back to the island with a photograph of me. I saw myself for the first time; a carefree spirit, void of the turmoil that plagued my early childhood years in Chicago. I stared at the photograph for a long time, amazed that she captured an essence that I'd never seen within myself and it seemed to heal me. It was at that moment that I wanted to do the same for others.

Fast forward 40+ years to 2018 to my photographer self. I was shooting a New Year's Eve party when I came across a young woman with a tall, voluptuous frame and thick locks of hair that swayed as she danced. I asked if I could take her picture and she protested at the fact that I'd even asked. Ironically, she believed that she wasn't attractive and I spent a few minutes trying to convince her that she was very beautiful. Finally, her friends convinced her to be in a group photo and I noticed through the viewfinder that she'd tuck her head behind the others. I called her out for hiding from the camera and told the others in the group that I wouldn't take the picture until she looked up. When I could finally see her face, I took the shot and showed it to her immediately on the LED screen. She smiled and stared at herself for a long time just as I did as a child. I was satisfied that she realized the unseen and beautiful essence within herself.

I try to also capture the randomness of nature. A feral cat I call "Frank Sinatra" for obvious reasons (or maybe not).

and a colorful beetle on my doorstep are a couple of my favorite pictures.

On the day I captured 'Goose School' I was mourning the death of my mother, unemployed and ending a toxic relationship. Nature has always been therapeutic for me so I decided to go to the park and breathe. I watched as a gaggle of geese paddled on the lake towards the boat ramp where I sat with my camera. It wasn't until they were close enough that I noticed the dozens of goslings that accompanied them. All of my problems vaporized in those moments and I was instantly reminded that I needed to pursue my dreams in spite of all the unknowns. I felt the courage of the little goslings learning things for the first time and decided that I would do the same.

I am also revising my first self-published book called The Matriarch Chronicles.

Thanks in advance for your time, comments, upvotes and reposts.