When I was growing up I wanted to be a politican, so went to Wilfrid Laurier University and studied politics. I ran for pretty much every political position I could, and was eventually elected president of my students' union. I thought I had found my calling. But, times were tough. I graduated during the last recession and realized I'd better stay in school and do something practical before entering the big bad world, so I studied for my master's degree in broadcast journalism at Carleton. And that's when it happened. Forget politics. I realized visual storytelling was the coolest thing on the earth! But with bills to pay, I somehow found myself working as an online communications manager for large companies like Corel & Alcatel. But all the while I couldn't stop taking pictures. I would drive everyone crazy at every party, on every hike, every vacation. So, when my student loans were finally paid off, I decided to quit it all, move to the west coast, and pursue my severe addiction full-time. I've never looked back. I went to the Western Academy of Photography in Victoria, which was an intensive one-year program and it was the best thing I ever did. I met some truly talented people, many who became my best briends. I was thrilled to win the award for "best overall student" and "best travel image." Now I'm teaching at the school and it's a total blast! I'm lucky to have won several high-profile international awards for my work and I've also started to photograph lots of destination weddings, which makes me pinch myself a lot. But even better, I've been able to be a part of other peoples' coolest moments in life, and that's pretty amazing. If you're interested in viewing a collection of my wedding photographs, you can visit the following address: http://photos.christinacraft.com/gallery/8683948_Xx8j5#573794714_DbRU8 And you can view complete weddings I've photographed at the following addresses: http://photos.christinacraft.com/MariaStephen/ http://photos.christinacraft.com/MichelleLee/ When I'm not shooting weddings, I'm in the bush stalking wildlife with my camera. I love to take pictures of animals in their natural habitat. Last year I placed as a finalist in the BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year contest and the Nature’s Best Photography competition. My nature galleries http://www.naturestocklibrary.com received more than three million visits last year, which is also pretty flattering and almost surreal. Thank you for visiting my site. Enjoy the pictures! http://craft.smugmug.com/Other/Portfolio-Bear-Prints/bio2/80183967_eRBid-Ti.jpg http://craft.smugmug.com/Wildlife Photography - Reptiles/ 2009-11-28T22:37:26Z Copyright 2009, the copyright holder of each photograph. Some portions copyright SmugMug. All rights reserved. SmugMug <p><a href="http://craft.smugmug.com">Craft</a><br />alligator jumping out of the water.jpg</p><p><a href="http://craft.smugmug.com/Wildlife-Photography-Reptiles/Alligators/1537958_jSHSQ#74055366_qw87n" title="alligator jumping out of the water.jpg"><img src="http://craft.smugmug.com/Wildlife-Photography-Reptiles/Alligators/alligator-jumping-out-of-the/74055366_qw87n-Th.jpg" width="106" height="150" alt="alligator jumping out of the water.jpg" title="alligator jumping out of the water.jpg" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" /></a></p> 2009-02-20T20:55:43Z Craft http://craft.smugmug.com http://craft.smugmug.com/Wildlife-Photography-Reptiles/Alligators/alligator-jumping-out-of-the/74055366_qw87n-Th.jpg 2004-10-22 15:19:25 <p><a href="http://craft.smugmug.com">Craft</a><br />alligator 2.jpg</p><p><a href="http://craft.smugmug.com/Wildlife-Photography-Reptiles/Alligators/1537958_jSHSQ#74055396_KgRQi" title="alligator 2.jpg"><img src="http://craft.smugmug.com/Wildlife-Photography-Reptiles/Alligators/alligator-2/74055396_KgRQi-Th.jpg" width="150" height="102" alt="alligator 2.jpg" title="alligator 2.jpg" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" /></a></p> 2009-06-08T15:53:41Z Craft http://craft.smugmug.com http://craft.smugmug.com/Wildlife-Photography-Reptiles/Alligators/alligator-2/74055396_KgRQi-Th.jpg 2004-10-22 15:19:02