Hello, my name is Melanie Berkheimer. I am a wife, mother of 4, and grandmother (mum-mum) of 6.
I’m not really sure how or when I started to like taking pictures. I think I probably got the photography bug from my dad. He was a photographer while he was in the army, and for the early parts of my life I remember him taking a lot of photos. We have photos that he took of me, the beach, landscapes, all kinds of different things, plus photos he took while in the army while overseas that he would send to my mom back home.
While I was in high school. I took a photography class. Thinking back, those pictures were NOT good, but I had fun taking them and developing them myself. The darkroom was always an exciting place to be, seeing what your images looked like for the 1st time.
Fast forward many years to 2004. I decided to buy a digital camera. I did a lot of research online and decided to buy a refurbished Kodak DSLR with a German lens-ohh! I fell in love with that camera and started taking a lot more pictures. I loved taking close-ups of flowers. I would go to plant nurseries armed with my camera. Another one of my photo loves became cemetery statues. I can go to a beautiful, old cemetery and spend hours just taking pictures. My Aunt (who is a former art teacher) saw some of my photos and really liked them and said she thought I had a good eye for composition and suggested that I do something with my photos. I began making greeting cards and other gift items using them. I would set up a stand at an art fair held in the quaint little town where my Aunt lived. I did that for several years and now I have my cards and gifts in a couple of local shops where I live.
In May of this year (2014) I bought a new camera. I was excited to get it and start playing. It arrived just before I attended my cousin’s wedding. At one point during the wedding, I saw the couple head into a field with a couch, I thought, this is gonna be a good time to take some pictures. I followed them over and started snapping away, trying to stay out of the way of the real photographer. I had a blast! I walked back to my table and said to my family, “that was so much fun, I could do that in a heartbeat” and so began my new found love in photography. I came home from the wedding and immediately began trying to learn all I could. I took an online photography course, have read countless books and spent an exorbitant amount of time online looking at websites and watching photography seminar videos. All of which leads us to the present with me wanting to take this new venture. I want to be able to share moments with others and capture them for lasting memories. I have a real passion for it and can’t wait to get started. When I was in high school, I thought that I wanted to be a psychologist because I liked hearing about peoples lives and helping them. Well life happened, I never became a psychologist, but I think in a way, this is similar, only I get to share in all the good, happy things.
My father died in November of last year, so he didn't get to see my renewed love and passion for photography blossom into this, but I know he is watching me from Heaven and I can’t help but think he is smiling about the adventure I am embarking on!
I’m not really sure how or when I started to like taking pictures. I think I probably got the photography bug from my dad. He was a photographer while he was in the army, and for the early parts of my life I remember him taking a lot of photos. We have photos that he took of me, the beach, landscapes, all kinds of different things, plus photos he took while in the army while overseas that he would send to my mom back home.
While I was in high school. I took a photography class. Thinking back, those pictures were NOT good, but I had fun taking them and developing them myself. The darkroom was always an exciting place to be, seeing what your images looked like for the 1st time.
Fast forward many years to 2004. I decided to buy a digital camera. I did a lot of research online and decided to buy a refurbished Kodak DSLR with a German lens-ohh! I fell in love with that camera and started taking a lot more pictures. I loved taking close-ups of flowers. I would go to plant nurseries armed with my camera. Another one of my photo loves became cemetery statues. I can go to a beautiful, old cemetery and spend hours just taking pictures. My Aunt (who is a former art teacher) saw some of my photos and really liked them and said she thought I had a good eye for composition and suggested that I do something with my photos. I began making greeting cards and other gift items using them. I would set up a stand at an art fair held in the quaint little town where my Aunt lived. I did that for several years and now I have my cards and gifts in a couple of local shops where I live.
In May of this year (2014) I bought a new camera. I was excited to get it and start playing. It arrived just before I attended my cousin’s wedding. At one point during the wedding, I saw the couple head into a field with a couch, I thought, this is gonna be a good time to take some pictures. I followed them over and started snapping away, trying to stay out of the way of the real photographer. I had a blast! I walked back to my table and said to my family, “that was so much fun, I could do that in a heartbeat” and so began my new found love in photography. I came home from the wedding and immediately began trying to learn all I could. I took an online photography course, have read countless books and spent an exorbitant amount of time online looking at websites and watching photography seminar videos. All of which leads us to the present with me wanting to take this new venture. I want to be able to share moments with others and capture them for lasting memories. I have a real passion for it and can’t wait to get started. When I was in high school, I thought that I wanted to be a psychologist because I liked hearing about peoples lives and helping them. Well life happened, I never became a psychologist, but I think in a way, this is similar, only I get to share in all the good, happy things.
My father died in November of last year, so he didn't get to see my renewed love and passion for photography blossom into this, but I know he is watching me from Heaven and I can’t help but think he is smiling about the adventure I am embarking on!