Living The Dream

What most people don't know is that I was blind several years ago.  My Jeep was run over by a truck driver who wasn't paying attention to a stop light.  Yep.  In a split second my life was changed.  I had major internal brain injury.  I couldn't see, my speech and reflexes were super slow.  I needed help walking for several months.  Ugh, what a mess.  My medical team tried to figure out why my vision was gone. While undergoing MRI's my docs found that I had a brain tumor.  At this moment I understood what these words truly mean, "Everything happens for a reason".  My mama said to me, "This too shall pass".  After almost a year had gone by, the docs told me that if my vision did not return in the first 6 months, it would not ever come back.  "Hmmm", I thought to myself, "they must not know me very well".  So, I decided not to wait for things to happen.  I had 2 choices.  I either was going to lay down in the dirt under a rock or take control of my future.  Plain and simple.  So, I began going to the school for the blind.  I was on the list for a seeing eye dog and I was taught to use one of those crazy white canes.  I wacked a few people with that thing.  It was awesome!  I broke nearly every water glass in my kitchen because I had no depth perception.  LOL!  I laughed about it then, too.  My docs thought a tumor extraction was the best option for me.  Several days after brain surgery, my vision came back.  I could see and smell everything so clearly.  My senses were hightened.  I spoke very slowly though.  And had to re-learn to read and write and tell time again, but I COULD SEE!  Woohoo!  Thanks to my occupational, physical and cognitive therapists, I am the person you love today...lol. 

As a national commercial - portraiture photographer, I bring my passion for sight into my work.  http://www.kaykanterphotography.com/  Who would have thought that a blind person would become a professional photographer.  I love every aspect of my work.  I love the smell of my profoto lights and the clean, quiet sound of my shutter.  I look for the clean lines and triangles in my shots.  And I dream about the Rule of Thirds.  I can sit and watch other amazing photographers work as if I was a giddy little kid.  If I could live in my beautiful downtown Salt Lake City studio, I would.  I found my nitch. 

My passion deepend when my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer.  I took that helpless energy and used it to serve others.  I created a charity called the For My Mama Cancer Photography Project.  http://www.formymama.org/.  We are a national group of professional photographers who serve chldren with cancer.  Because their families must endure the finacial burdens of cancer (just like my mama did), most of the time professional family portraits are last on the priority list.  At this stage in their lives these images are priceless.  Sometimes it is the last image they will ever have of their child.  I gathered a group of amazing photogs, from across the nation, to help these families.  We offer family sittings and the entire portrait set, at no charge, to theses families.  They are very grateful.  There is nothing like turning these kids into models and making them the center of attention.  We have fun with them and let them be care-free kids, again. 

My passion is photography.  I am living an unbelievable dream.  Come back and keep in touch with me.  In this blog, I will shower you with a rainbow of sunshine.  I will try to show you images that will make you feel something... anything.  I will announce the winners of contests that I hold; up-coming events, employment opps for my KKP models and staff; the crazy adventures of traveling internationally and working with actors and corporate big wigs and being the mommy of 2 of the cutest little munchkins around.  I will share stories about my advetures shooting with well known corporations; trying to get wild life shots, working with $25 million properties, infant cutie-pies and beautiful brides.  Oh the stories that my camera could tell.  Much love to all.