My Roots
I decided to go with my middle name (Dale) since I have had two last names in my life. I always have been and I always will be Jessica Dale so it seemed fitting. Yes, this is me with a camera and no pants on, circa 1983. (I am aging myself, I know). Looking back, I realize I’ve spent my whole adult life preparing to own my own photography business. My interest in photography came from a love of taking snap shots of my friends and me while we were in middle school and high school; photos that were candid and fun! And photos that were taken with film (yes, film!). Shooting a roll of 35mm, dropping it off at the photo lab and anxiously waiting until it was ready, hours, days or weeks later resulted in pictures that I cherish to this day. They are moments frozen in time!
After high school I decided I wanted photography to be my career field, and so I enrolled in the photography program at OSU-Okmulgee. It’s there that I received an Associates degree in Applied Science, Photography in 2003. After graduation I worked in other fields (non photography related) and eventually went back to school at OSU-Tulsa to obtain my Bachelor’s degree in Business and Marketing. During this five year period, while working full time and attending school, I realized that all I really wanted to do was take pictures. A couple of weeks after graduation in January 2014, I furiously began to work on achieving that goal. And today I can say that my love of photography will motivate me to continue to learn and perfect my artistic skills in this chosen profession.
I live in Owasso with Steve, my husband of 10 years. He is my rock. And although it’s cheesy to say so, he does complete me. He puts up with me, he is smart, and he can fix almost anything. Oh, and he’s an amazing cook! Steve and I are also the proud parents of a super-scruffy Beagle/Jack Russell dog named Josie. She is eight years old, and although that means a middle aged lady in human years, she still acts like a puppy! 
Fun facts about me…
- I love the color yellow (hence my logo). Side fact, yellow tulips were what I carried for a bouquet at my wedding 10 years ago.
- I am great at remembering birthdays and fancy myself a great gift giver.
- I loooove hip-hop music and have since I was young. I thought I would grow out of it as I got older but that never happened!
- I love coffee, it’s my nirvana.
- I used to be 50 pounds heavier and lost it over a five year period. No magic pill, just diet and exercise.
- I still love shooting black and white film; it looks like nothing else, and I love the process of shooting it and not being able to see it right away and having to wait. View pictures taken with Black & White film here.
“When you photograph people in color, you photograph their clothes. But when you photograph people in Black and white, you photograph their souls!”― Ted Grant