Does writing "Photographer" next to my name define me as a person? Does it make it real? Am I a photographer?

YES.

To be able to call myself a photographer was a 30 years old journey.

"Everything happens for a reason." Every moment of my life, for as young as I can remember, is filled with memories, voices, sounds, feeling and images that lead up to what and who I am today.

I was born in tropical Reunion Island, surrounded by happy and warm people. Etang-Salé Les Bains, the town where I grew up, is a small surfing and fisherman town. The family home is 100 metres from the sea and from my bedroom window I would wake up to the volcanic mountain as a view.

I was born.

Surrounded by talented surfers, artists and a unique mix of cultures, I was inspired. After borrowing my parents and friends cameras I started capturing my friends feats in surfing and bodyboarding.

Me in my hometown. Photo by Karen Corre.

I moved to Perth in 2005, and spent 3 years studying Industrial Design. I became a passionate and skilled designer. I worked as a 3D visualisation artist for various company. I was paid (a lot) to create beautiful (architecture) and not so beautiful but intricate (Oil & Gas) images from a 3D software.

Photography was at that time (and for years to come) a way to go outside and see the world.

It became a passion.

My wife saw how much I love spending time with my camera - a 7 Megapixels Pentax Optio 750Z - and offered me a Canon 450D for Christmas 2009. I learned everything about that camera and spent all my free times using it.

The gift that will help me become a photographer, or photographe as we say in my mother's tongue.