It all began for me in elementary school, our family got one of the first digital cameras.  It had 3x zoom and a 2 mb card.  I would shoot photos at the assemblies and my photos were printed in the monthly newsletter that the school sent out.  As the years passed, I began taking photos on family vacations.  During our 2001 trip to Africa, I shot a photo of two lions that would go on to win 2nd place in a contest put on by our travel agency.

In high school I started my first business with my friend Paul.  We would attend off-road races in the deserts of California, Nevada, and Baja, Mexico.  I shot still photography while Paul would shoot video.  The photos from each race would appear on our website where customers could order prints of their favorite photos.  One race, Paul got the opportunity to ride in one of the race vehicles and I shot both the stills and video.  The video from that race got featured on youtube and reached 80,000 views overnight.  After two years of filming, I edited a terabyte of footage down into a 45 minute DVD which we released at the Off-Road Expo in Pomona, CA.  

In 2007 I began college at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.  I worked as a freelance photographer for the school paper, The Poly Post.  By my sophomore year I held the title of Assistant Photo Editor.  At the same time I held a position as student assistant in the university events and special projects office.  I created 81 equirectangular panoramas for the license of facilities director, and had some of my photographs on display during the grand opening of the university library.  I also have photos on display in the Restaurant at Kellogg Ranch on campus.

After my sophomore year I decided to leave Cal Poly and study business with a concentration in entrepreneurship.  I hope to attend SDSU in the fall of 2011.

Erik T. Christiansen