Seventeen years ago I took my first stab at photography. After five cameras , six states, and swearing off photography forever a couple of times, I find that I just can't get enough of it.

I've been in the navy, I've been a darkroom manager. I've worked in healthcare, I've worked for a portrait studio. I've shot a little for local papers, but nothing works better for me than trying to capture anything that catches my eye. It's a “clack-clack-clack!” way of stopping to smell the roses.

The majority of what I shoot is photojournalistic. I was a reluctant convert to digital photography (hence the 7 year hiatus), so the only enhancement tricks I use are the ones I can do by hand, the old way. Real life is beautiful enough already.

Why Mona? Well, Mona is really just a nickname that almost no one calls me anymore. For some reason it taps into a part of my brain and literally makes me see the world in a different way. Not unlike the Terminator, but for good not evil.

I currently live in Mesa, Arizona with my husband, and I really miss going to the beach. Real ones, like the ones in Hawaii. I also enjoy mountain biking and tacos. That's four good things for the soul.