Nobody knows why the small-town Virginia couple in the 1950s decided to give their daughter a camera for her 9th birthday. But that gift eventually would change her life.
Mr and Mrs Love gave Frankee a Kodak Brownie Starflash and a “year’s supply” of film (12 rolls). Within one month the film had all been turned in to the local drug store and had become a shoebox full of pictures. The Loves were not wealthy people and could see where this was headed. They had 3 instructions for Frankee. One, “stop shooting everything you see – develop a theme.” Two, “let’s switch to black & white film because it’s cheaper.” And Three, “Get a job".
Jobs for 9 year olds were not all that easy to come by but not impossible. With an income from afternoon babysitting and Saturday morning garden work, she was able to contribute to the support of her film habit – black & white film, that is. As for a theme, she noticed that black & white film was good at showing shapes, spaces between shapes, contrast and texture. Ever since that discovery, she has seen the world through different eyes. During Sunday afternoon drives in the country, the Loves did not mind stopping every 15 minutes so their budding photographer to get a picture of a barn, a tree, a fence, or a rock.
As years went by, the cameras got better and so did the pictures. It
was definitely a worthwhile hobby. In college in the 70s, she majored in
Recreation & Dance
in a Southern California university but photography always remained a strong
side interest. With a few elective courses in photography, composition,
darkroom, etc. she spent more and more time honing these skills – just
for fun. Often at twilight she would go to “Signal Hill” where oil rigs
could be seen pumping in a see-saw fashion all night. She still has hundreds
of photos of oil rigs silhouetted by the night sky – sort of like eerie
statues.
After graduating from college, she returned to Virginia and started working in municipal recreation departments. Although her official title was NOT “city photographer” a large percentage of her time throughout the 1980s was spent photographing the city’s parks, events, children having fun on playgrounds and general promotional pretty pictures. Many of her photos appeared in local brochures and magazines. For fun, she took more photography classes at the local community college and put in a great deal of time in the college darkroom. She also took part in every photography workshop that was ever within driving distance including some by Eastman Kodak and National Geographic Magazine.
In 2000, while still working in the field of recreation/tourism and public relations, she started a little side business as a wedding officiant and photographer. With the advent of digital photography, she no longer had to worry as much about heeding her parents’ warning to stop shooting so much. She began providing a wedding ceremony and photography combined as a package. These two services together have now expanded to include lodging, flowers, cake, champagne and such. Her wedding packages have blossomed into a full time business.
Now, 50 years after receiving the Kodak Brownie Starflash, she has launched her photography business Delight Photos, Virginia - specializing in weddings, engagement photos, and environmental family portaits.
