ROCK FALLS, Ill. (AP) - It started for 15-year-old Morgan Lewis the same way it started for many of us, with pictures of her dogs.
The difference in her case, though, is those snapshots of Sparky the dachshund and Dexter the dachshund-Yorkie mix unleashed a passion and a talent. Not to mention that, if you can take crisp-focused photos of dogs with their hyper dispositions, using an entry-level camera to boot, well, you’ve got something.
The Rock Falls High School freshman already knows she wants to be a photographer when she grows up, and her grandma and grandpa, Doreen and Ron Bontz, spurred her with an upgrade to a Canon 70D for Christmas.
“That was her love, to take pictures, so we decided this would be her special gift this Christmas . and maybe the next few Christmases,” Doreen joked.
The Canon boasts four times the zoom of the Nikon she used to capture some genuinely breathtaking art.
What makes it art? For Morgan, it’s the feeling.
“You can’t just take a photo and be like, ’I’m a photographer,’” she said. “You have to be really into what you do. It’s something you have to be passionate about.”
About 3 years ago, Morgan was looking for her place in the world. When her mom, Angie, was her age, she was a multisport star at Rock Falls High before going on to play at Sauk Valley Community College. Her dad, Dan, and brother, Tom, are sports buffs.
Sports just didn’t light Morgan’s fire, so it’s no coincidence she gave them up in eighth grade, shortly after she started snapping pictures.
“I just kept taking pictures more and more, and I just started getting better and better,” Morgan said. “I decided I really want to do this.”
She’s a dog lover, obviously, but also loves taking photos of all animals and nature. She agonizes over all the fine details before admitting a photo is truly a prized capture.
“I look at the quality of the image, and I like details,” Morgan “If it’s a picture of a bird, I look at the feathers and the eyes - all the little details.”
“She’ll tell me, ’Grandma, no. This isn’t good enough,’” Doreen said. “She sees all the little things I don’t see.”
Her studio is her neighborhood - from sessions with dogs at the house to setting up alongside the Rock River and patiently waiting for a prime opportunity to appear.
“I’d like to go somewhere with beautiful scenery and different animals we don’t have around here,” Morgan said. “We mostly have birds and foxes.”
She missed out on Yearbook class this year, but hopes to get in next school year, and she’s keeping an eye out for any other classes that could help her develop her craft.
Her parents work good-paying jobs at the Wal-Mart Distribution Center, and they’re not worried about Morgan struggling as a starving artist. She’s too persistent to starve, Dan said.
“I support her 100 percent. She’s so passionate about it. She’ll stick with it, and she’s finally found something she can sink her teeth into.”
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Source: Sauk Valley Media, https://bit.ly/2iU9sm6
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Information from: The Daily Gazette, https://www.saukvalley.com
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