Maren Makes Memories
Senior Maren Johnson expresses herself through her camera lens MAYA AMMAN EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
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plane flies over Gravelly Point, a classic picnic spot for senior Maren Johnson and her friends, and everyone begins to panic. Maren leaps for her camera as her friends put themselves into the right position so she can capture the perfect photo with the plane flying overhead. As a photographer, the pressure to get the best shot has been a constant influence in Maren’s life. Maren discovered her love for captured memories at an early age. “I always loved looking at our old family pictures on our computer, and I would spend [countless] nights with my siblings looking through them and laughing,” Maren said. After years of honing her skills, Maren’s passion for photography has become clear to those around her. “She has always been creative and artistic. She just looks at things differently than my other kids,” Maren’s mom Hillary Johnson said. As she entered high school, while she 20 | A&E | OCTOBER 2021
temporarily explored other activities, she kept finding herself drawn to photography. “Freshman year, I was going to play field hockey, but I couldn’t because I hurt my wrist, so I reevaluated,” Maren said. “[I asked myself] if I even wanted to do this or if I wanted to do something completely different. [Instead], I took Yearbook, and that was a really great outlet for me to go into more creative things and focus on who I am. I’ve never been good at sports, [so I focused] on things that make me special.” Maren soon realized that she could use her talents professionally to help others and make money at the same time. “Someone in our church had known that she was interested in taking family photos so they [hired] her. That was her first professional paid job,” Hillary said. “Then she [photographed] a few other families after that and just kept going.” In addition to taking pictures for other families, her own family figured she would be able to do the same for them. “I totally count on her to record and
document all of our family moments,” Hillary said. “Whenever we go on vacation, she takes all of our pictures and makes videos of our trip.” Soon after she started photography professionally, Maren began to explore videography. Both pursuits allowed her to capture the best moments in her life through a lens. “Whenever I’m sad, happy or need to feel grateful for my life, I always just make a video, even if it’s a minute long,” Maren said. Maren’s favorite video so far is her 2020 recap. “I made it as a way to encapsulate my feelings about that year,” Maren said. “[That year] was really hard and challenging for me, just like it was for a lot of different people, but there were also so many moments when I was happy and I was really grateful for everything that I had in my life.” In an effort to spread her creations to a larger audience, Maren started posting her videos on Instagram and TikTok. “I had a lot of people reach out to me,
Images provided by Maren Johnson | Page design by Maya Amman | Graphic by Jayne Ogilvie-Russell
