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The Photographer
I am a firm believer in establishing strong business relationships. One of the best ways to accomplish this is to get to know the person you plan on paying to get some great shots of you and your family. So, allow me to introduce myself. Michelle Cramer. Pleasure to meet you.
To tell you a little about me, I was born and raised in Missouri. I spent the first half of my life in the Rolla/Vichy area, so I’m a country girl at heart. I spent many a weekend on my grandmother’s farm, right on the edge of Truman State Park, roaming around on the four-wheeler with my sister. I would say that is when I began to develop an appreciation for the beautiful landscape God created. I remember having camera in hand, pretending to be a big-shot photographer who took spectacular pictures of the old barns and sunset lit hills that surrounded me.
My grandmother first recognized my photographic instincts and purchased my first camera. She even made the commitment to pay for all of my developing, though she soon regretted that. I took pictures of everything I could think of, experimenting with different angles, positions and light. I have to admit though, being eight or so years old, very few pictures turned out as well as I had planned. But I had an eye and a seed was planted.
My family moved to Springfield when I was eleven, though I spent much of my summers back on the farm for many years. I am a Parkview High School graduate, class of 1999. I then went on to college at good ol’ Mizzou (University of Missouri – Columbia, for those of you who aren’t familiar with it’s nickname). I graduated from Mizzou in December of 2003, with a BA degree in English Literature.
I met my husband, Josh, at Mizzou and we were married June 8, 2003. He recently graduated from x-ray school and is now a registered x-ray technologist at a hospital here in Springfield. Our son, Elijah (Baby Eli) was born February 26, 2008. I am a very proud mommy, as you can see from the pictures above. We also have three wonderful dogs who have taken very well to the baby's arrival, Gizmo (a lab/dane mix), Gadget (a beagle mix) and Sproket (a "chug" whose nickname is Squirt).
I’ve always had a creative spark in me – I got that from my mom. When we were little she always gave us projects to make as Christmas gifts for our extended family. I’ve continued the tradition. My grandmother taught me to sew and I love making baby quilts for my friends. I also love to scrapbook. Those creative whims will be put into another business sometime in the near future. I also thoroughly enjoy writing, especially poetry, which I’ve been doing for as long as I can remember. In fact, I do part-time freelance writing as well for a blog, The Small Business Buzz.
At this point, you might be wondering how photography became the business of choice. Well, as I said, it’s always been a part of everything I do. I have a great appreciation for the ability of a simple photograph to capture so much and preserve a precious moment forever, hence the name of the business. Over the years I have further developed my skill, and with the support and encouragement of my family and friends, felt as though I was at a point where I could really become the photographer I pretended to be as a little girl. The defining moment was at my aunt's wedding in 2006, when the photographer she had hired failed to take any photographs of the ceremony, and seemed to be at a loss for ideas when it came time to photograph the wedding party. I interjected so many ideas myself, that I came to a realization that photography was really something I could do. So, in January of 2007, I made it official and Eternal Image was born.
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