Hey there! My name is Maggy Wheeler. I am the owner and photographer at Maggy Wheeler Photography, LLC in Nashville, TN. I have lived here for about 16 years. After having my little girl 9 and a half years ago, I decided to get back into photography, so I had something to do for myself. I realized how happy taking pictures made me and that I really wanted to do something with it.
When I was younger, I went on photo taking adventures with my dad. He took the most beautiful black and white photographs with his old Nikon. He travelled the world and showed me how you can find so much beauty you may not have noticed at first by using a lens. After taking pictures of beautiful and interesting things I slowly started to find interest in portraits. I would take photos of my family and my dad would help critique my lighting and style. He saw I had a huge interest, so he gifted me his old Nikon that he took all of those beautiful photos on. We used to get the film developed and go straight to our darkroom and enlarge our favorites. I really miss those days but super grateful I have those memories.
I started taking my camera everywhere. I took photos of friends constantly. They first started out as photos of everyone smiling and grouped together, but then I remembered how you can find a different kind of beauty. I got closer and they laughed or talked or just sat reading a book. I loved it. I treasure those photos. I took that camera with me to college and continued photographing friends. I went with my best friend, Susie, on her photography assignments for her Photojournalism class. It got me out of my comfort zone by asking complete strangers if I could take their picture. It helped me grow.
Fastforward, I continued taking photographs with that old film camera and moved to Nashville. I took it to friend outings, events, girl trips and photographed my roommate and our dogs in the snow while walking to the McDonalds on Gallatin Rd. But then...she broke. My most prized possession broke. I still have the same roll of film in my camera from the moment she stopped working. I didn't take photographs at all for several years. I missed it and then felt like I lost it.
I had Hazel in September 2014. To no surprise, I had a bit of post-partum that nasty thing that a lot of women silently face. I called it my "new baby blues". My incredible husband, Chris, noticed this and said, "You need to buy a new camera. You need to get into it again and do something you love that is for yourself". I brushed it off for a minute and then thought, "wow...you're right." Next thing I know, he helps me order a camera and it arrives. I will talk about that transition another blog post. Going from film to digital was horrifying. But, I found myself again. I didn't lose that piece of me and I was so happy.
I tell my clients constantly that photography is my therapy and it truly is. I will get more into that on another post too but for now this is me and that is my journey. I really hope to get my old girl fixed and take film photos again. But for now, I will continue to capture the things I find beautiful in people and things with my digital Nikon. I cannot wait to continue and grow on this forever evolving journey!
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