Photographer

My mom says I was 5 years old, and for weeks, I’d been devising my plan. I would sleep behind the couch in the living room, the blue and white one with the plastic furniture protector. The one directly across from the Christmas tree. I remember it like it was yesterday. I clutched my dad's old Polaroid, intent on getting a photo of Santa arriving with presents. That is the earliest memory I have of wanting to be a photographer. Now in my 21st year at the Tampa Bay Times, I cover things that move a lot faster than jolly old St. Nick. Lightning hockey players, Grand Prix race car drivers and NCAA athletes. My favorites, though, are everyday people and daily life. That also moves pretty fast, come to think of it. And yes, there is usually a Santa assignment mixed in there once a year, too.