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| My name is Joshua Myers and I am the owner of Joshua Tree Photography. I didn't always dream about being a photographer. I certainly was interested in the arts as a child, and enjoyed music and drawing. My art classes in high school dabbled in photography but as I drew closer to college I was convinced that a career in graphic design was the path for me. Upon entering college in 1993 I quickly realized that graphic design, although it was a great creative outlet, was a slow and tedious process. I found myself more and more preoccupied with one of my elective classes - Introductory Photography. I could still utilize the skills I had developed in composition and lighting, but I only had to wait as long as it took to get back to the darkroom to see the results. I was hooked. By my sophomore year I was officially a photography major, and enjoying every minute of it. Purdue's staff of professors were truly inspirational, and the focus on fine art photography was exactly what I was looking for. Or was it? In 1997 I graduated with my bachelor's degree and set out... to do what? After graduating I returned to the South Bend area and began working at a local camera retailer. My employee discount offset some of the cost of my expensive habit, but the best benefits were the ones I didn't expect. I spent eight hours each day learning about the technology end of the business and how to integrate that with my fine arts background. The camera store also put me in touch with several professional photographers. Not only did they teach me about photography as a business, but my new contacts led to freelance jobs in my spare time. I did some commercial jobs, portraits, pretty much whatever was tossed my way. One day I was put in contact with a couple who were in need of a wedding photographer. It was a little scary since I had never shot a wedding before, but the pictures turned out great and the couple was pleased. The other jobs I had done were fun, but these pictures had such tremendous personal value to these people. The idea of creating something that people would truly cherish was more gratifying than anything I had ever done. A little luck and a lot of referrals later, I'm doing something that I truly love. In 2004 my fiance Janine gave me the courage to start my own business - Joshua Tree Photography (although when the weekend is over I still clock in at the camera store to learn a little more and visit my photographer friends) Janine is absolutely the love of my life and without her support I would never be where I am today. So it seemed fitting when, in October of 2005, I stepped out from behind the camera to have a wedding of my own. What advice can I give you as you plan your wedding? Do it with lots of love and have fun! - Josh |
