FORT SILL, Okla. (May 12, 2017) -- Rather than pose in front of a camera for selfies or as the subject of someone else's art, Monica Willett prefers looking through her "magical device" capturing images of life around her.
Whether photographing children or nature, Willett, an Army wife, has called Fort Sill home for six years and enjoys the creative expression stemming from a passion she believes she was born with.
Although she's dabbled with photography since childhood, she's never submitted her images to contest judges. Willett found her rewards in harnessing natural light to create exposures she enjoyed.
As for how her art might fare compared to others, she looked at the winning entries in the 2015 Army Digital Photo Contest.
"They were all just phenomenal," she said.
But then, a friend gave her that little extra dose of motivation to enter the 2016 contest. Despite this, her "own worst critic" mindset still held sway as the days counted down toward the end when people could enter.
Those final days whisked by for the mother of three who found plenty to keep her busy while her husband attended to his soldiering duties.
But, really, deadlines aren't that significant ... better safe than sorry right?
"It was the last minute, literally I waited until the deadline and uploaded several photos," said Willett, ticking off categories as she pressed enter to send another digital image off into the ether.
Until one image remained.
"Army Baby," which she created at the request of a co-worker of her husband, in a sense sat quietly in the cargo pocket of an Army Combat Uniform wondering if it too would be entered.
It was the last photograph she submitted.
Though she didn't take top prize, her friend's encouragement led to a third place finish in the Military Life category for the Army's 2016 contest, and perhaps validation of her artist's eye.
Willett's reaction to how she fared speaks to the morale aspect of the contest, open to active-duty service members, retirees, Defense Department civilian employees and their family members.
"I wasn't expecting to place at all, but when I got the email announcing the winners, I was bursting with excitement," she said. "It made me feel so good, that my photo was good enough."
The photo was a moment of inspiration for Willett, who came up with the idea of the baby riding in the cargo pocket of a Soldier's utility pants.
"I really enjoy photographing children," she said. "I like babies at birthday parties when they do their cake smashes -- it's fun and unpredictable."
About eight years ago she bought her first camera and began shooting in auto mode letting the camera do her thinking for her.
Through trial and error, the self-taught photographer kept practicing, and her budding skills, combined with a passion for photography she believes she was born with, developed into an activity she began taking seriously about two years ago.
She now shoots in manual mode with her Nikon D7100 and has aspirations of developing her passion into a business that will complement her domestic duties. Mostly that business takes the form of personal requests from friends and other people in the community.
Willett said she doesn't do any shooting indoors, preferring the natural light outdoors. And, rather than recording grand vistas or scenic landscapes, her favorite subject is on a decidedly more personal level.
"I like doing close-ups of flowers and trees," she said.
With her eyes attuned to her family, and on the side, her business, Willett has noticed her son seems to have the same inclination for photography and will often shoot photos with her camera. Best of all for her, there's love in both parts of her life.
"For me, photography never gets old, I love my job," said Willett of her growing business.
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