Today we’d like to introduce you to Patricia Possel.
Patricia, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I’m Patricia Possel. I am the third born in a family of five. I have three brothers and a sister. I am fortunate that both of my parents are still alive. My father is in his nineties. My mother is in her eighties.
I married my husband, Bob when I was 20 years old and we are still happily married. We will celebrate our 40th anniversary later this year.
We have three adult offspring and two grandchildren. We enjoy being grandparents much more than being parents. Grandchildren are the reward for rearing your children. The grandchildren are worth their weight in gold, which means they get more and more valuable, as they grow.
We truly enjoy playing, watching, and teaching our grandchildren. Children can bring out the best in people and grandchildren target and bring out the best in their grandparents.
My husband’s work gave our family the opportunity to live in a variety of states and the opportunity to travel both domestically and abroad. The experience of living in a variety of places and traveling has helped my family to be more accepting and open to others, to different cultures, to different ways of life, and to others’ opinions. We all love to listen to and tell adventuresome stories.
We settled in Cordova, TN. We enjoy our lives, our neighbors, and our activities.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
There are always highs and lows in life.
One of my struggles was working through the aftermath of having one of my children be brutally attacked and victimized by a small group of young men. This event was life-altering for all members of my family. Although the event happened many years ago, there are environmental and emotional triggers.
Those triggers can transport my mind to that time, like Scotty beaming Captain Kirk up through the transporter on the Star Ship Enterprise. It happens very quickly, and one feels like your entire body has been torn apart. One can only hope the particles are put back together in the correct sequence. However, unlike Captain Kirk, I don’t think any mother ever is whole after such an event. It scares you for life. One moves on, but there are noticeable marks.
One of my professional struggles happened on a hot summer day. I was in a field of sunflowers photographing two small children when my camera malfunctioned. The mirror inside the body fell out when I was changing lenses. I wanted to die. Fortunately, the smaller child decided to throw a fit at that very second, and the mother just asked if we could call it a wrap.
I quickly agreed, packed the bags, and hoped I had enough good shots taken before the dysfunction. I did. I quickly sent off the body for repair and purchased a second body. I never went to any other session without backup equipment. There have been other malfunctions in equipment over the years.
But thankfully, I learned the lesson without any major consequence. Changing equipment may slow a session, but having backup gives you what you need to finish the session.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
In 2000, my family and I moved to Shelby County, TN. My husband and I had three children living at home when we transferred to the Mid-south. At that point, the three children we all in school, two in high school and one in grade school.
We quickly wanted the children to acclimate to the community and their new schools. Simultaneously, I wanted to get to know the community and the families of other students that our children were meeting at their new schools. So, I volunteered at all three schools, Christian Bros. High School (CBHS), Cordova High School, and Holy Rosary Elementary.
CBHS was organizing their annual fundraiser, an auction. I had experience organizing auctions, so I volunteered to be a part of the Gift Gathering Team. One of my responsibilities was to solicit businesses in the community for donations, which would be used at the auction. On my list of businesses was Alex Ginsburg’s Photographic. I called Alex, and he agreed to donate.
When I went to pick up the gift certificate and a sample of his work for display, he and his wife, Rhonda, greeted me warmly. Alex and Rhonda happened to live in the same neighborhood. We chatted freely, and by the time the conversation ended, Alex asked if I would consider assisting at weddings. I laughed because I did not even own a camera.
Alex told me I did not need a camera, he needed me to help bridal couples in posing, and he needed someone to hold the flash, which was not attached to the camera. I thought it would be a fun thing to do, so I started working for Alex and Rhonda assisting at weddings. About a year or so later, Alex and Rhonda opened their studio in Germantown. I was then offered a position in the studio as their Director of Marketing. I took the job and worked for Alex and Rhonda for about three years.
When I left working with Alex and Rhonda, I knew I wanted to purchase a camera and learn to use it. I had learned while working with Ginsburg’s quality photography. So, I bought a Fuji digital camera with an add-on lens and joined the Memphis Camera Club (MCC). I started to learn how to use the camera, applying terminology I had learned while working with Alex.
I began to compete in the monthly MCC competitions. I entered juried exhibits and started to show my work in local galleries. I mostly shot portraits, as I like working with people and bringing out their best, and showing off their personalities, especially in children. At first, I did not charge anyone, as I would photograph fun subjects. And to hone my skills. But, as my reputation for quality circulated, clients volunteered to pay me, and eventually, I decided to open a business as a photographer.
My two oldest children had gone off to college. My oldest daughter was majoring in Modern Dance, which had followed seven years of intense ballet training. She was full of natural talent and was offered her first dance contract while in seventh grade. I was never a dancer, but I could appreciate the movement. It took me a while, but I learned to read the movement.
For those without experience, dance is a language. Talented dancers can tell stories and express emotions that cannot be conveyed with words. When I visited my daughter on campus, I took my camera. I wanted to capture the movement. My first attempt at shooting during a class was not very successful! Not knowing where the movement would take the dancers, not knowing the music, not having a subject pose was throwing me off. Watching a movement piece through the eye of a camera viewfinder was not the same as watching a piece as an audience member!
Plus, a photographer shooting dance cannot say … “wait for a second, I need to lift your head, smile a little more or less, and please come into the light!” You need to find the light, stop, or show the movement and be at the correct angle to get those “ideal,” “dramatic,” and perfect captures that showcase the talent, training, expertise, and precision of highly trained dancers make look easy. Fortunately, I had many opportunities to practice shooting dance.
Then one day, after my daughter had graduated and was under contract with a professional company, that company had hired a “no show” photographer for a theater performance. My daughter told the Artistic Director that I was a local professional photographer and that she would call and ask if I could come and shoot the show at the last minute.
The Artistic Director was thankful that I could step in and capture the show. For the next 11 years, I was the lead photographer for that dance company. I shot all the shows and did promotional work in advance of the shows. My heart beats for dance photography.
Over time, I developed relationships with other dance and theater companies in and around the Greater Memphis area. I find it difficult to turn down any performance work, as I liken shooting dance to a sugar rush. It just feels awesome when both the dancer extends and execute the technique perfectly while I am simultaneously capturing and freezing that nanosecond in time.
I continue to photograph people and events in addition to my performance work. I find the work very satisfying. I have been called and asked about a picture I shot in the past a few times. Sometimes, a loved one has passed, and the family cannot find “that one picture” that showcases the beauty of their loved one.
Or, parents of seniors will call and ask for images of their “babies”‘ from when their young adults could be carried. I find it rewarding to show growth through time. An image really can say a thousand words without uttering a sound. The images can spark such emotional memories. Photography is joyful work. I am proud of the work I have produced that warms a heart or brings a twinkle to my clients’ minds.
In between my career as a photographer, in 2012, I embarked on a journey into local and state politics. In 2012, my neighborhood was annexed into the City of Memphis. The residents of this community felt it was an egregious act against our constitutional right to choose our governance.
In 2020, our community returned to being unincorporated Shelby County, as the people united, fought “City Hall” over eight years, and won! I am still active in local politics and currently hold the elected position of treasurer for the Republican Party of Shelby County.
How do you define success?
I define success as doing something that brings joy to someone else.
It can be a major project, in which you played a part that the net result gives a benefit to a group of people or the proceeds from that project helps someone in some way. Success can be felt, or witnessed when you see that small smile as someone is thinking a pleasant thought as the result of your action.
Success can be when you hold someone’s hand that is stressing and that very human, soft, and simple contact brings peace to their mind/heart. Success is positive connections to other people.
Contact Info:
- Email: papossel@comcast.net
- Website: PatriciaPosselPhotography.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/patti.possel
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/Ppossel
Image Credits
Patricia Possel, Patricia Possel Photography, and Brian Castle
