A note from Patrick a.k.a The Vanity Corner It seems I've been shooting forever. If you look at the picture of me here, it was taken on a night when I HAD been shooting forever! I had to test some new lights and everyone else was asleep at home. As I was alone in the studio my test became a self-portrait...and I look a lot less happy than usual. I'm normally a pretty smiley guy! I liked the picture all the same so here it is. It's nicely lit, but a great example of why you shouldn't shoot when your subject is tired. Everyone sooner or later seems to ask how I got started in this, so here's my little tale. I saw a movie about a professional photographer when I was 8 years old and was hooked. A paper route paid for my first serious camera when I was 12. My first picture was published when I was 14. The first photographic "job" I had was in a photo lab when I was 17 and I opened my first studio in San Francisco when I was 21. Shooting since childhood, I've devoted my life to making beautiful pictures. After a zillion years shooting in and around the SF Bay Area and the California Central Coast, Robin and I have relocated our family and the photographic business to the California Gold Country, making our home in Calaveras County. Robin grew up here so this all seems natural. The kids are happy and so are Robin and I. If you are really interested in the home-farm update and family stuff for Robin and I, please click on this link and it will take you to my blog. From my new base in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains I continue to serve the western states, with the occaisonal foray back east and abroad. Take a look around my online gallery and contact me when you need a professional for your family or your business. I've been doing this a long time and I still get a kick out of it every day. Thanks for taking the time to stop by. Patrick Works