On August 20th, 2019, I moved from quiet, suburban Minnesota, leaving behind my entire life to start anew in Berkeley, California: an exciting, energetic, and lively college town.
In the few days before moving in, I was more afraid than ever. Minnesota held all the things I had known, and having never lived somewhere as crazy as Berkeley, I had much to be worried about.
However, it only took a few days to understand how much there was to love about UC Berkeley and the surrounding city. The best food was only five minutes away, my best friends lived a few steps away, and the opportunities to explore your passions were ever-abundant. In no time, I stopped missing home and began to fully embrace this new life.
With so much to do, there were many things I had to sacrifice. Before moving here, I was booked to the brim for senior portrait shoots, family photos, video shoots. However, UC Berkeley is undeniably a challenging place to study, and on top of school, work, social life, health, and relaxation time, freelancing slowly started to fade out of my life.
But that didn't stop me from continuing to do what I loved. Since being here, I've still been able to capture some amazing moments, whether that be through assignments for the Cal Blue and Gold Yearbook to just having random photoshoots with my friends. I wasn't getting booked nearly as much, but all the events and beautiful places in Berkeley fully made up for that.
I view this as a good thing. After freelancing for two busy summers, the joy of photographing began to diminish as I started to view it more as a job than a hobby. Coming here, I have been able to understand again why I love what I do, so I wanted to share some of my favorite events and beautiful moments I've captured with you today!
Photos of Rally Committee and Cal Band at the Homecoming Rally. UC Berkeley's official Instagram actually published this photo! That has been one of my goals ever since getting here.
Bastile x Joywave at the Greek Theatre. Shooting this event was extremely emotional actually. After taking photos, I got to sit in the rest of the concert, and I listened to the band's live performance while pondering how cool these experiences were and how lucky I was to be here. Brought a tear to my eye :')
Do you ever have a moment where you feel like nothing else matters, and you are fully just taking in life as it is? It's a pure feeling of peace as well as happiness to just be alive. This was one of those moments (': If you want to feel free, head up to the Clark Kerr Fire Trails at sunset, and just take in the view. It has never disappointed.
Also taken at the Fire Trails, picturing two of my favorite people at Cal, Jeena and Tijmen. I love them! <3
Here are a few videos from the location:
Of course, there are many more amazing moments I've captured, but I just wanted to share these favorites today! Check out the portfolio if you wanna see more of my work, and hit me up for any of your photoshoot, team headshot, or video needs!
Thanks for taking the time to read, and go bears!! <3