About Me

I was born in 1972 in Okinawa, Japan to TSGT Ronald Lark and Delores Lark.  On October 11, 2014 I married the love of my life, William Benjamin Hubbard.  I have three son's; Aron, Joshua and Matthew and six grandchildren; Noah Jeffery Ray, Melody Rose and Case Alexander, London Ruth Ann, Eden Grace and Owen Conrad Rhett.

In 2005, I was sitting in the dentist’s office wondering what I would do with my life.  I had three children and wasn’t much more than a child myself at the time but felt that I had reached a point when I could focus a bit on myself finally.  I picked up a Popular Photography magazine and began sifting through it.  I had never thought about being a photographer until that point.  That is when the realization came to me and I began to think back over the years at the photographs I had taken and how particular I was about composition, etc.  I could have easily become a soccer mom photographer like everyone else seems to be doing but I wanted more so I started by working in a photography supply store.  I enrolled at The New York Institute of Photography in 2006.  Since then, I have worked in a portrait studio, a traveling studio in which I photographed infants and toddlers at their schools, I have worked  under a local photographer photographing college and high school graduations, proms, dances, weddings and events in addition to freelance work of my own doing portraiture, weddings, sports teams and more. 

During this time, life changed and my photography career had to slow down.  NYIP was put on hold and a full time job put in it's place.  In 2009, I decided it was time to excel even further.  While still working full time, single and three kids in high school, I enrolled in The Art Institute Online Division.  In 2013 I decided to see what I could do to finish my studies at NYIP and completed this in June of 2014 as I continued my studies at The Art Institute.  After 5 1/2 years of hard studies, I finally received my BS in Fine Arts from The Art Institute in July 2015 with a 3.5 GPA.

There has not been one genre of photography that I did not enjoy.  I love portraiture and working with clients to provide a portrait that showcases the true nature of the subject, not just a fake "say cheese" smile, but a natural expression whether it is grumpy or sad.  I love to photograph nature and landscapes, capturing the beauty of the world in front of me as I see it.  I really enjoy photographing those "life moments"; a wedding, a birthday, any milestone.  These are the times that I do not hold back.  I make sure to capture everything from the first dance to grandpa dancing with the grandkids.   During these events, I find myself swallowed by the mood, the love, the fun and this shows in my work. 

But, my happiest, most inspiring and rewarding work for myself, the work that I get the relaxation and photographers "high" from, are the times when the photograph comes to me, when I am sitting there with my camera and the image just appears in front of me just waiting for me to capture it.  These are the images that are mostly unseen, hidden away from the world because I wonder "who would understand this image?".   

Education

2006 - 2007

2012 - 2014

The New York Institute of Photography

2009 - 2015

The Art Institute, BS in Fine Arts

July 2015