Rylee Morgan - Shooting Into the Sun

Today's featured heroine in the celebration of National Women's History Month: Women Weaving Stories of Women's Lives is Rylee Morgan from Shooting Into The Sun.


I'm a professional photographer. I don't have time for nonsense. Some people don't understand that, among them my kid sister, Lexie. You'll have to meet her sometime. But I'm here to tell you about myself. Which is a challenge. I don't like talking about myself or about my life. What good is rehashing the past? You can't change anything. You just fix a goal for yourself and set one foot in front of the other and don't deviate from the path. Then you'll be fine.

Except I made the mistake of deviating from my path. To give you a little background, I learned photography in my childhood from my dad, Ryan Morgan. See, I'm named for both my mother and father--Ryan and Lee Ann Morgan. Hence, Rylee. But I was always Daddy's girl. At least until Daddy left. 

I still have the old camera he gave me right before he got into his car and drove away sixteen years ago, never to be seen or heard from again. I studied photography and then got hired at the school I graduated from. And, now, I have a major opportunity to travel around the country for the summer, shooting America. It's a lot of driving and hotel rooms and strange places, but I love the solitude when I work. And that would have been fine by me if it wasn't for Lexie having a life crisis. See, I'm more of a mother to Lexie, who is eight years younger, than my mother is for either of us.

I was looking for a summer of travel and adventure and work. I was NOT looking for a summer of teasing and loud music and explaining myself every five minutes. I also was NOT looking to pick up a hitchhiker (way outside my comfort zone and list of rules) and then fall in love with him. Where did that come from?

One of things I like about photography is that it has certain rules attached in order to get the best results. Not the least of which is: You never shoot into the sun. I thought life worked the same way. I'm not one to easily admit I'm wrong, but....well... I suppose we all are at one time or another.

Read more of Rylee's story in Shooting Into The Sun at Amazon.com and in trade paperback at Champagne Books.