TINA AUTEN—COMMUNITY MODERATOR
Crazy. Spend time with me and you’ll soon realize I’m crazy. Crazy about my husband of 29 years, crazy about our children, crazy about our grandson, and crazy about Southlake Carroll Dragon football. I’m also crazy about photography, the beach, good guacamole and chips, making Homecoming Mums (the more bling, the better), and remembering to keep a sense of humor when times are tough. Laughter really is the best medicine.
Random but true facts:
My first crush was on Bobby Sherman from the TV Series, “Here Come the Brides.” Go ahead and Google him – those baby blue eyes were dreamy!
I met my husband on a school bus when we were 13 years old.
All three of our children’s first, middle and last name letters add up to 17 which is the number my husband wore as a high school football player.
In college I was a marketing major, English major, history major, and still couldn’t make up my mind so I got married, became an Air Force wife and stay-at-home-mom with a side order of volunteerism. When I returned to college during my husband’s staff tour at Scott AFB, I decided to become a counselor and major in psychology. I graduated in 2000 with a BS in Anthropology and then taught assorted writing and communication courses at a community college in Southern Maryland until my husband retired from the Air Force in 2006.
My spirit animal is the beagle – loyal, happiest in a pack, and nose to the ground sniffing out the next thing that catches my attention.
I’m a nerd at heart and love learning for the sake of learning something new. My photography education has been a combination of local classes and workshops, self-study, internet research, online courses, and practice, practice, practice. There is something so satisfying about grasping, applying, and mastering a new skill or concept with my camera. There is always something to learn which is one reason it always has me coming back for more. Having a background in anthropology has influenced the way I see the world in general, but also in the way I photograph others. I enjoy watching a scene unfold in front of my lens and telling the story from the point of view of my subjects rather than my own. Some of my favorite images have a slight journalistic feel to them and I am eager to explore lifestyle photography in the future.
My hobbies include procrastination, painting, surfing the organizational and office supply aisles at Target and The Container Store, pool days in the backyard, day dreaming, laughing with the ones I love, tailgating, and arguing with Siri.
