ABOUT ME

I was born in Gallup, New Mexico on the Navajo Reservation. Here I spent my early childhood running bare foot in the red sands of its spartan landscape. At the age of ten my family moved to Provo Utah, where I spent the remainder of my childhood and am now raising a family of my own. As an adult I find I am increasingly drawn to my childhood roots, and the employment of photography as a medium for expressing the perspectives of the Diné.

I first fell in love with photography when I happened upon a black and white photography class at Utah Valley University (UVU). A few months after completion of this course, I furthered my learning in photography through an internship with a photo studio. At this time I solidified my intent to turn this passion into a career. I thus sought and obtained a B.S. degree in Multimedia Communication Technology, all the while building my professional experience through management of two portrait studios, and teaching classes in design and photography at UVU. I later managed the Instructional Creative Services at Utah Valley University’s Distance Education department as a Creative Director.

My service in education has reinforced a strong technical proficiency in the field, something which I have carried into my work as a professional photographer. Beyond the technicality of the work, I value my role as an initiator of the creative process and a guiding influence for my studio team. In this capacity, I find that I must simultaneously cultivate creativity among my staff while still providing a solid foundation and forward momentum for the project at hand. Additionally, I place great import on creating a positive work atmosphere based on agreed upon standards of quality, timeliness, cost effectiveness, and most importantly, integrity.

There is such a space for continued growth when creating art, and while I always seek to perform my very best on each project. I see the term of “best” as evolving in meaning. This evolution continually pushes me forward into new avenues, and drives me to look deeper within myself emotionally and intellectually for innovative ways to more effectively organize visual information; to capture the complex with simplicity and elegance; and to cause people to pause and find themselves connecting deeply and very humanly with my projects.

In all, I have become over the years as much a manager and mentor of the creative process in others as I have in myself. Each of these roles has involved acquiring and flexing new skills, providing a continual source of challenge and creativity. My passion is as much about creating art as it is working with colleagues and clientele to seek unique, effective, and efficient ways of engaging people in our aesthetic endeavors.

Contact:
tcbegay@gmail.com
801-810-9628