In case you wondered…

Name: Jeremy Todd Messenger.  I go by Todd which is a family name.  My first name was originally going to be Jeremiah, but due to the popularity of the song Joy to the World shortly before my birth and the fact that everyone came to know that Jeremiah was a bullfrog, my first name was changed.  When I started in the world of photography, my business was called J. Todd Messenger Photography which was a bit of a mouthfull.  My friends had begun jokingly calling me J’Todd, so I decided to shorten the name to J. Todd Photography.

Born: November 28, 1972 in Leavenworth, Kansas.  No, I wasn’t born in the prison and have never been to prison.  However my father worked for the Federal Penitentiary most of my life (there are actually about 7 prisons in Leavenworth).

Now: I live in Overland Park, Kansas (map)which is a suburb of Kansas City, and I’ve lived in Kansas almost all my life except for a brief stint in Minnesota.  By the way, when people talk about Kansas City, they are usually referring to Kansas City, Missouri rather than Kansas City, Kansas

Work: I work as a professional photographer in central Overland Park, Kansas.  It’s a great town with easy access to just about everything in the Kanas City area.  And I’m reasonably close to the airport for easy access to those location weddings…

Family: I have two sisters, one brother, three nephews, two nieces, and a whole mess of aunts, uncles, and cousins.

Travel:  I love to travel when the opportunity presents itself.  My goal is to one day hit all seven continents.  I only have Africa and Antartica left, so if anyone is planning on getting married at the research center in Antartica and needs a photographer, let me know.  We can work out a sweet deal. 

The first time I was ever on a plane was when I was 16 and I headed to Brazil for a short-term missions trip with a singing group that I was part of.  I guess that’s when I caught the bug.  One of my favorite trips was a three-week visit to Australia and New Zealand in 2001.  I’m looking forward to going back someday to see more of each of those great countries.

Photography: I am a self-taught photographer.  I began shooting seriously while serving as the photographer for my high school year book but it seems like I’ve always been taking pictures with one camera or another.  The previously mentioned trip to Brazil was the first time that I bought a nice camera of my own.  Although I put the camera down for a few years, I picked it up again in early 2005 and began shooting professionally later that year.  Photography brings me enormous joy.  I love creating beautiful images that I know will be part of a family’s history for generations to come.

I use Nikon products.