A decade back, an April at a time

Here’s a quick glimpse of the last 10 years of my life:

April – 1998 – age 17 – finishing up my senior year of high school, my 13th year at CCS. I officially lived there. My classmates had become some of the best friends I have, which is nice in a group of 16 since you’re stuck together all the time. We rode busses, ate chickpeas and whole fish, played Euchre and saw a couple of famous places on our class trip across Israel. Good times.

1999 – age 18 – Had traveled across Southeast Asia the autumn earlier, trying to figure out what was next. Lived in Indiana, thought about photography studies, yearned to travel. I’d be back in the Dominican Republic twice this year.

2000 – age 19 – Uppsala, Sweden – living like a polar bear at Word of Life Bible school. Met some of the coolest Finns and learned to ride a bike in the snow. When I came home Sara and other gals at our church would start talking about having a cafe in an old storage basement. I’d think it was a crazy idea to put 4 or 5 of the most talkative girls I know together in a concrete room and give them caffeine. Geeesh!

2001 – age 20 – Home in Indiana, started Photography studies at Ivy Techerson. Hung out with friends at Potato Creek on a sunny afternoon while working on a class assignment, ended up chilling out with Sara several times with mutual friends. Picked up work in shipping and receiving and would be transferred to serious SHIPPING to live half a year in Florida aboard the MV Louisa and sail with her crew to Nicaragua that winter.

2002 – age 21 – Southeast Asia – dousing total strangers with ice water in 105˚ muggy streets of Thailand for the annual Thai new year Songkran celebration. Working with HIV orphans who became little brothers and sisters to me for the half year I lived there. Unforgettable. I remember receiving a friendly, encouraging email from Sara and soon being called a Rudy Tuesday for making fun of / razzing her by email. When I returned home to the USA in August we’d begin sharing our travel stories and find out we had a lot more in common than passport stamps. The storage basement was a happening place and the Underground Cafe would expand and begin hosting more regional and even national bands.

2003 – age 22 -Indiana again – Started dating Sara and sharing travel stories. I began working at Ritz Camera and joined the workforce of mall retail employees. I also taught drama to about 30 middle and high school students and we worked on putting together the school’s largest production ever: 30 students, 3 acts, and never a shortage of laughs.

2004 – age 23 – Indiana – Photo classes in full swing, smelling of pickles and eggs / darkroom chemistry. Snapping medium format and 4×5 large format black and white negatives never felt so good. A random conversation about Bob Denver, aka Maynard G. Krebs / Gilligan introduced me to Matthew Whitlock and shooting documentary digital wedding photography with Zeta Alpha Studio. It was exactly what I wanted to find a way to do for work, and while working with Matthew I was able to sharpen skills and begin to branch out in photo work. Meanwhile my sweetheart Sara and I grew more and more in love.

2005 – age 24 – Still at school, still at the camera store. Sara and I photographed our long-time friends Rose & Jeremiah and Rachelle & Joshua’s wedding and I knew I had to get Sara to shoot with me more often. Away from the cameras and work Sara and I had begun to talk about and think having a wedding of our own soon.

2006 – age 25 – ENGAGED and counting down till our wedding day in August! With Spring ahead we were full speed ahead to planning OUR day in front of the cameras. It gave me a new respect fo all the couples planning their own celebrations and just what an honor it is to be asked to document a newlywed couple’s exciting wedding celebration. I would soon find out Ritz Camera was going belly-up and I would take up photography as my full-time job. Sink or swim!

2007 – age 26 -newlywed couple already half way through an amazing first year as husband and wife. We would soon outgrow our one-bedroom place as we planned to start a family soon and love was in the air! Soon a tiny little Adrian would be conceived and lots of excitement would follow! Our photography had picked up to a very busy year ahead as our business, family, and love grew by leaps and bounds.

2008 – age 27 – Ten years since graduation, a wife and a growing family at home, photogrphy as my creative outlet and income and what a look back it’s been. I never knew when I met Sara in 1998 we’d be here together in 10 years. Now, we’re about to purchase our first place as our adorable baby boy nears 3 months old. We kick off our full schedule of photography this weekend, and the Underground Cafe still kicks it up for a show every copuple of weeks. Good times.