Bio

I was asked at an event if I was an actual photographer, or just a kid with a camera.

I'm still mulling that one over.

Creation has always been captivating. From the mythological stories of cultures all around the world that enraptured me as a child -- eventually leading to my formal study of the Classics at Cal -- to projects: the utilitarian (a table for my workstation), the impulsive (an electric guitar), or essential life skills (a halfway-decent apple pie). It was this love that tied me to photography, and the power to not only capture other people's moments, as an observer, but also the power of the photographer to create their own moments.

What started as class taken on a whim, something fun for my senior year of high school, quickly turned into something so much greater.  Between two other students and an encouraging instructor we formed our own AP Photography class, and we were successful at it too. All of us scored well on AP Test, as well as brought home awards from the local and state fair.

Since then photography has been an enjoyable hobby. It was something done now and then, time permitting. But even if the camera had been laying around, unattended and gathering dust, whenever I picked it up again and brushed it off the process was always an inspiring, healthy experience.

Albeit sometimes frustrating. 

Those moments of human error when you miss the shot, when you've forgotten if you loaded the color or black and white film, when you know, you just know, that you're on the cusp of a fantastic shot but you just can't get it right. But on the other hand, it is those same human elements that can make the process so rewarding as well. When all the little pieces slot together into a moment.

A decisive moment.

My aspirations for the future include not only getting out there and creating my own moments, but better exploring art as a whole. To be humbled and inspired. To afford myself the self-validation that I too, in my own small ways, contribute to it.

Even if I'm just a kid with a camera.

I can be contacted at sswayze@berkeley.edu