Photo Bio # 3 - Everyone Found Out I Was Different, But...Being Different Is Good!
I’ve always been okay with being different. I think it roots back to being an only child who didn’t have very many friends. I also had severe asthma and allergies that held me back from eating a normal diet. When school started I’d often have to sit out of gym class or overly physical activities when I had trouble breathing. I also missed out on a lot of surprises when teachers would bring in food for the kids. It never took long for everyone to find out that I was different, and often would lead to kids bombarding me with, “Would you die if…” questions. There was no avoiding it. This made it clear that I was different, though I accepted it.
From a young age I would try and make my artwork unique, either from the example in the art book, or from all my classmates. Kids would often tell me I was doing it wrong, and some teachers would even make me redo it their way. Looking back I’m glad that being different came naturally because now I realize it’s what makes change happen, and helps the world move forward. When I started tweaking photos I actually started by using tools in the program Macromedia Fireworks, which doesn’t really exist anymore. I knew of Photoshop, though I thought it was just a preference for some people. I hadn’t realized what photoshop was capable of yet. So since I already had access to Fireworks, I moved forward with it as my program to learn editing through. I was looking at a photography magazine and it mentioned using the liquify tool, along with a picture of a model who with the click of a button went from a B-cup to a D-cup! Yep, you guessed it, I immediately downloaded Photoshop and got busy with the liquify tool. Then I created this image...Yeah it was 10 years ago, pure magic at the time.