Photography, Forensic Science, and 15 Fun Facts

It’s National Forensic Science Week and you may be wondering what on Earth that has to do with dog photography. Here is the connection between the two and 15 fun facts you might not know about me.

1. While I always carried a camera around as a kid (and printed doubles of all family vacations, trips to the zoo, and more), I actually learned photography while getting my Masters in Forensic Science at George Washington University. Crime scene photography taught me the critical rules of exposure, composition, distortion, etc. I started photographing my own dogs using these rules, then learned to break them to make creative dog portraits that highlight personality!

2. After earning my Masters, I spent 14 years with the FBI working everything from crimes against children to counterintelligence. I traveled around the world teaching foreign partner police departments, briefed the Attorney General, and supervised a kick-ass team. It was an amazing career, but my heart is in making people’s pets live forever and I’m so grateful I get to do this full time every day.

3. I have a serious aversion to the smell of vinegar. Pickles cannot touch my food or my plate – that juice ruins EVERYTHING!

4. In 2016 I met the last surviving male Northern White Rhino, named Sudan. Africa was my bucket list trip but I never could have imagined how life-changing the experience would be. The people, the culture, the wildlife – suffice to say after two trips to Kenya it will retain a permanent place on my bucket list.

5. Speaking of rhinos, I interned with the veterinarians at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park and assisted an international team from Germany and China to artificially inseminate their rhinos.

6. In my younger years I could ‘jump rope’ with my arms by clasping my hands, stepping through my arms, and rotating them over my head. I’m going to pass on seeing if I still have that talent in my late 30s….

7. I love comfort food – specifically homemade chicken pot pies – so much that sometimes in the middle of summer we will turn the air conditioning wayyyy down to pretend it’s cold so we can enjoy them.

8. I grew up in Southern California but was not overly fond of the beach. Of course now that I’ve moved to Dallas, I love visiting and beach vacations…

9. I’m highly competitive and enjoyed gymnastics, horseback riding, swimming, water polo, and rowing. I also think I’m the only person in all of Texas who does not watch football.

10. This is the first time my husband and I have lived in a house for more than two years since leaving our parents’ homes after graduating high school. Between schools, the military, the FBI, and life, we packed up regularly and I still find colored tags on our furniture from the movers years later.

11. The hottest temperature I ever experienced was 132 degrees at Lake Havasu. We were in an RV and had to go home early because the air conditioning in that metal box on wheels simply could not keep up.

12. I envy people who speak multiple languages. I took three years of Latin, Spanish, French, Japanese, and American Sign Language but remember only a few words of each.

13. I am the worst at pop culture. I have never seen a full Star Wars or Harry Potter or many common movies like the Goonies, Breakfast Club, and more. Growing up we weren’t allowed to watch the Wizard of Oz because my dad was creeped out by the flying monkeys.

14. I have an eidetic/photographic memory. When studying I would use color coded highlighters to mark my books and could remember exactly where on the page the information was when asked on a test.

15. I’m obsessed with Christmas cards. I do a different theme every year and often have them planned a year or two in advance. We’ll be releasing our Christmas mini sessions in the next week or so. Comment on the Facebook post if you’d like first dibs!