We All Have A Story...
My Story Starts in Mexico.
That's where I was born. When I was two years old, I was given up for the first time to an attorney, wearing nothing but a diaper, and put on a plane headed for Wisconsin. I was adopted into a new family twice by the age of 6. The first couple had grown children and wanted me as a trophy of sorts. To be seen, not heard, and I was abruptly taken from them on an ordinary afternoon on May 8, 1990. That is the day my memories actually start.
The second couple, already parents to 7 children, biologically and through adoption for 4 of them, and caring for several foster children as well, took me in and adopted me later that year. I was fortunate to grow up on a farm with horses, cows, chickens, near woods and creeks, where I played outside to my heart's content, without a care in the world, never thinking for a second to capture anything with a camera. We only had film back in those days!
After graduating High School, I entered the workforce and spent my early adult years working full-time at various jobs, doing my best, even though it still felt like I wasn't where I was supposed to be. Many years later, my significant-other, now-husband as of 11-11-11, gave me my first digital camera for my 27th birthday. My life forever changed after that day.
I started posting pictures on Social Media like everyone else, and I kept getting the same comment: "You take pictures differently.." That instinct to keep clicking until I see my "vision", is what drives me still, to this day. I started getting offers for family sessions, weddings, and family events around town, plus what I already captured on a daily basis when I took the sunset drive home at night. I was lucky enough to be a nanny for over 4 years during this time of learning and development, and I captured "my" kids at play everyday because I knew our time together was temporary even though I loved them with all my heart. When my girls needed kindergarten, they no longer needed me full-time, so I decided to start the long journey of becoming a Professional Photographer. I never planned to become a photographer, it was just so organically evolved that I can't imagine doing anything else with my life. That's why I take it so seriously, it's a gift, a passion, something I want to share with the absolute best people that appreciate the art and creativity that goes into every shot. Each Session I offer is a "Field-Trip" Style event, where we start at one location and see where the evening takes us. Every Family is unique and different and your Family Photos should reflect that. I'm the photographer that loves to be the fly on the wall and watch people hugging, smiling, and laughing, and capture it all in a way that turns that moment into a memory to be cherished. We can't get those moments back, so we should be capturing our lives as naturally as possible with love in our hearts and our minds wide open to all possibilities.
This has been a beautiful ride thus far; and I can't wait to see where it takes me into the future. I have finally found peace in my past, knowing that it has led me to this moment because everything happens for a reason and I wake up every morning knowing exactly what I'm supposed to do. Follow your heart and let life guide you where you're supposed to be. It might not happen now, but it will eventually.
"Give Me Something to Photograph, and I'll Give You Something to Remember..."
Viviana Nadowski Owner/Photographer of Visions By Viviana Photography, a division of Nadowski Enterprises, Inc. as of January 2016.
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*This quote came to me in a dream, so I woke up to write it down because it was so powerful to me and speaks to my heart.
