My creative journey

My name is LJ Corley, and I am a self-described “Life Enthusiast”. I say that with both humor and great sincerity. I’ve been lucky enough to have many amazing adventures in my life, including my childhood in a military family, my military career as an adult, and my work with amputees in the US and Latin America. If life has taught me anything, I’ve learned to appreciate the fact that each day is to be enjoyed to its fullest, so I embrace life with great abandon and a healthy dose of humor and self-deprecation. 

I've always been creative, but I always struggled to channel the vision in my mind out through my hands. I attempted to master painting, and drawing with no success. It wasn't until I discovered digital photography did I find my niche.

My journey with photography started with a little bit of travel and a big dose of cancer. You see, it was only after my cancer diagnosis in 2004, that I threw myself into photography and digital editing as a means of escape during my treatment. That was the silver lining for me through that entire ordeal…. the discovery of a new passion!

Since that time, I’ve grown very passionate about photography. I rarely use a tripod and never leave home without a camera. That’s not to say I will take a photograph of just anything though. I must see potential in an image. That’s the only reason I take it. I don’t see the finished product or what will come of it, but I sense the presence of something interesting in it. There’s always a surprise for me in what comes out of my work.

I have always been able to find beauty in the smallest and most unlikely of places. It wasn’t until I put my focus into digital photography that I was able to physically capture things that only my eye had appreciated in the past. I believe there’s amazing beauty all around us. A person doesn’t need to travel to Venice or Rome to witness beauty. We just need to be open to it. 

I like to say I don’t create “run of the mill” photography because I am not regimented by rules. I create art for myself, ultimately, and enjoy sharing it with others. I’d like people to walk away from work saying “Wow, that’s different!”.

My hope is that my photographs allow you, the viewer, a previously unseen perspective into things around you often considered unimportant and unnoticed as well as an appreciation of the beauty in the simplest of things.