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Mindy LOVES

• laughing
• my family
• hearing giggling
• cute little baby feet
• really good chocolate
• Cranberry and Lime Slushes from Sonic

Mindy AVOIDS

• asparagus
• poison ivy
• snakes

Longer Bio (if you have more time):
I took my first photography class in high school, and that is when I knew my dream job was to become a photographer for National Geographic. Fifteen years, a husband, and two kids later…I am still in love with photography but, I have come to the reality that my priorities have changed. Since high school I have chosen an unintentional path that has done nothing but build character and hone my photography skills.

While I was in college for my BA in Cultural Resource Management with an emphasis in Graphic Arts, I worked at the local camera store. I was a lab technician, saleswoman, and processing assistant. I took passport photos, cleaned & checked cameras and developed negatives. The BIG shift from 35 mm to digital happened while I was working at Lakeside Camera. Young and dumb I left that job thinking that making more money at another sales job would make me happier, selling cell phones. Although I made great friends while I was there (as I do at every job), I knew that being a saleswoman was NOT the career for me. I am honest to a fault. You ask me my opinion and I give you my HONEST opinion. This honesty does NOT equal an increase in sales.

I finished college with a great internship at the Atlanta History Center. I put together a manual and method for photographing artifacts and entering them in the museums database. I was privileged to walk amongst the private collection in a humongous storage area and pull out artifacts and historic pieces that I have previously only seen behind GLASS. A truly great experience!

Returning from Atlanta, I found myself at a cross-road. The path I chose was to marry my High School Sweetheart and settle down in our hometown of Covington. I then moved on to a job in the Marketing department at Stirling Properties. I created flyer templates, produced marketing packages, updated websites, and photographed our big commercial developments for 5 years. I even got the chance to shoot aerial photographs of the New Orleans and Northshore areas. I then gave birth to two beautiful children named Wyatt and Ava. Ohhh did they change life as I knew it. No more flying in a two-seater airplane, hanging out the window and taking photos for me.

Ava was born with a heart defect, which is corrected now; having your 4 month old go through heart surgery can put things into perspective for you. I LOVED my job and the friends I worked with, but knew that the time had come to rearrange my priorities. My dad and I came to an agreement that I would come and work from home with him at Senpecta Medical (www.senpecta.com). My dad started the company in 1986, and has been running it ever since. He has been teaching me the ins and outs of running a small business since 2007. I love working from home and helping my dad, but still need a creative outlet; Photography and Graphic Design is where I find that outlet. I love being able to capture a moment on film, and make that photo perfect by fixing someone’s hair or swapping a smile from another photo.

I have been taking portraits here and there for friends and family for years. Their support and encouragement has been a monumental foundation toward my leap toward my dream job. Mindy Rathe Photography is the beginning, but who knows where I will end up. I would like to call my style, aspiring National Geographic photographer, minus the cheetahs. So with great life experience, that same laugh, more people to love, and more who love me; I am thrilled to have the opportunity to live the rest of my life through the lens that I love so much.

I hope to see you through my lens soon!

XOXO,

Mindy

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