ABOUT ME

I always wanted to be a photographer.

The truth is, I wanted to be a lot of things…

- screenwriter/director
- permanent member of the cast of Stomp
- drummer (I could listen to percussion all. day. long.)
- teacher
- shoe & clothing designer
- I could go on, but from here the list includes things like dolphin trainer, and being the person who assigns names to crayons and nail polish…

I pursued some of those dreams… I have a B.A. in English and Secondary Education, and spent more than 15 years working as an editor, writer, graphic designer, and web developer.

But photography lingered on the sidelines until I got laid off in 2009.

That’s when life began to get really interesting.

away we go

Two days after I lost my job I was on a plane to London on a previously-scheduled trip to visit a friend for a week.

I had my Canon Powershot, and took lots of photos for the photography blog I’d started that spring, Random Photo of the Day.

It’s a bit of a cliche, but the English countryside really did soothe my soul, and I tried to relax, stay present, and trust the Lord with what was to come.

At the time my book club was reading the Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. Julia pointed out that if you get excited about someone else’s dream, it may be a dream of your own.

Although I do tend to get excited for my friends as they follow their hearts, I realized I was particularly excited when my friends pursued careers in photography.

And it slowly dawned on me that I should explore photography as a career.

So I did.

the next step

I signed up for a class at Orange Coast College, and I was so afraid of failing it was hard to tell my friends what I was doing.

That was an indication of just how much I wanted to be a photographer, but at the time it felt like I had a fragile dream that I could barely justify to myself, let alone defend to someone else.

I didn’t want to share it with anyone who might tell me the market was saturated with photographers (which it is) or that it’s crazy to pursue a career with so little stability (which it may be, but here I am, and so far, so good).

That fall I won a free spot at a 4-week workshop by Pasadena photographer Shannon Leith, and had a series of one-on-one classes with Christine Smith, an awesome photographer who is also an excellent teacher.

taking the plunge

After that I began to get excited. 

It turns out that OCC has an incredible photography program, so I enrolled in more classes and took thousands of pictures.

Thousands and thousands.

Spent hours of my life in the darkroom and in the studio, and invested what felt like a small fortune on film and photographic paper. 

But I kept plugging along, and finally decided I was ready to make it official.

what’s in a name?

And then I realized that my last name, Boocks, wasn’t going to work for a business name… it’s pronounced “books,” but the c in it throws people off. So I went with my mom’s maiden name and launched Elizabeth Ray Photography.

Which brings us to today.

I love capturing what is true… live moments between couples, friends and family members… and that tends to show up in my work.  I like people, I love my life, and I love what I do!

I’d love to hear from you… contact me here.