"If my heart could see, it would do it through the lens of a Camera"

 -Missha Vara                               

Let me start with telling you a little story about me. Ever since I was a little girl, I was always around artists; painters, poets, dancers, actors, sculptures, and musicians. Life in itself always portrayed a beautiful masterpiece with every passing day. I was also born with a gift of being able to see a little bit beyond what other people could see, therefore, I always wanted to capture those moments and share them with the rest of the world.
Never really able to afford a camera, I grew up just appreciating these spectacles of life and nature, and capturing them the only way I could, through sketches.

Money was always tight, so by the time I was able to buy a camera that I needed for school, it obviously had to be used. Though I didn't mind my used camera at all, the problem I was facing was that the world was turning into a digital world way too fast, and I felt I was not going to catch up with the trend.

I started working at an airline when I was 24. We were taking care of my grandmother at home, so I had to leave school to help my mother with the expenses, and with that, my camera and I also departed ways. Though I was in a good job, I wasn't really paid enough to be able to afford a camera just yet. An opportunity came to me to visit the land of my dreams; Ireland. Yes, one of the perks of working at an airline is that you get to travel. Though I still didn't have much in my pockets, a friend from another airline offered me the opportunity to make the trip for only $300 bucks round trip, and of course I had to take it. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Of course I was very excited about my trip. I had been wanting to visit Ireland ever since I was 16, and it took me 8 years and a very good friend to make the adventure. Knowing about this dream opportunity and with my birthday coming that year, noticing all the sacrifices done, a relative decided to grant me another amazing gift. She gave me my first ever digital camera. I couldn't be happier! I was going to be able to capture my adventure and share with my friends and family, while treasuring my experience forever.

I literally dreamed with this exact place before I went there. Taking this photo was proof that sometimes dreams do come true, and you can find yourself in a place you had visited before in dreams, and only capture it through a photo to treasure.

Sadly, though I used that camera for many things and almost every day, after 4 years it finally broke in one of my trips.

Not long after, my brother called me, and invited me to take some photos for him in his graduation gown. My brother didn't live at home at the time, and we hadn't seen each other for a while. I knew that the pictures I was to take, we might not even get to see, so I had to take action. By then, I was lucky and able to afford a treat for me, and I got myself a nice Canon Powershot camera. It was expensive, but I thought that at that point, it was really worth it, and I had the means and purpose. I was able to take some really great photos, and was able to share not only my brother's event with the whole family, but I was able to share so many wonderful treasurable moments in our lives. I felt so grateful, because I was able to take amazing photos and share what I was seeing with everyone. All in all, that had been my ultimate dream ever since I was a kid. Well, that and having children.

This was a shot from behind the scenes. We took a lot of nice looking photos, but we also had to be goofy about it. It's part of our personality to laugh and smile, plus we were celebrating that he was graduating from college. No, those weren't the clothes he was wearing under during the official ceremony, lol. That was just what he was wearing for our session. I wouldn't have been able to treasure and immortalize these goofy treats without my camera, that's for sure.

Every trip became and adventure that I could capture. Every bit of nature's display of beauty became an immortal portrait. I could even sneak and capture odd and goofy moments with those I loved. Of course my husband never really saw this coming. I think capturing love and happiness in one's life is magic!


After my grandmother passed, I felt I needed to bring magic to my mom's life to brighten her every day. I remembered all what photography does to me, and I decided to give my mother her very first digital camera for Christmas. It was the most expensive gift I had ever given, but to see her face on that morning, was priceless. Someone had been kind to me by gifting me a camera, so I wanted to give back and do the same for someone who means the world to me.

Seven years of wonderful adventures gave my camera the feel of an extended limb. Not only was I able to use this magnificent tool to celebrate the beauty of this world, but I was also able to use it as a working tool for blogging, and sharing life with family (When your family lives in another country, this is how you stay close and connected). And it also gave me the opportunity to share a hobby with my husband in which we were able to incorporate his hobby as well; gardening. That is how we created The Lopez Garden channel on Youtube and shared some amazing photos of the food we were growing both through social media, and emails so that our family knew what we were up to, and they could also join in growing a better tomorrow.

This is the Taro plant we have in our balcony after a rainy day.

Rain can make your ordinary plants, into a natural display of beauty.

This is one of the roses we have in our garden. It is called the Soul rose after the compliments we got from a Tibetan monk who was visiting our neighbor.

For anyone curious, this is a shoebill bird. It only looked scary, because it was as tall as us and stalking us, but it is magical to see creatures that not many have seen before, capture the moment, and share the experience with family and friends.

This is a structure bordering the Santa Catarina River in my hometown of Monterrey, NL, Mexico. I was able to capture the right moment in which the structure framed the "Cerro de la Silla" mountain, while my mom was driving by. It is in those moments, when you are grateful for having your camera with you at all times.

This is a composition of two photos I took on the same day at downtown Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico.

Sadly, the life of my camera came to an end last September. We were fortunate that it still worked while we were visiting my mother-in-law in Colorado. It was my first time in the state, and though there was a black spot in the lens that I just couldn't remove, I was still able to capture wonderful adventures as we were driving around.

My birthday was coming, so since the camera showed no signs of life anymore. My husband decided to buy me a new camera for my birthday. I felt so happy, because it is something that I truly love and in a way we also needed it because of our lifestyle. Unfortunately, our beloved cat Elliotte got really sick and sadly passed away just a week before my birthday. Our cat was the spark in the house. Even if my husband and I are always smiling and laughing, our beloved Elliotte was like a bit of sunshine that literally brightened everyone's day. I have to say that the expenses were ridiculous, but understandable. At some point I really didn't care for the camera, because Elliotte's life was more important to us. However, there was nothing we could do to save him. It has been really hard without my furry buddy, but once again, I had the blessing of having my camera with me at all times, so I was able to take loads of photos and even video of my dearest angel in a fur coat.

We adopted Elliotte 4 years ago, and feel like it wasn't just us giving him a second chance to have a home and a loving family, but it was us getting a unique opportunity to get to know him, and love him so. We know he was a happy cat, because he made us very happy too. He will forever be missed, though he is always in our hearts.

It's been weeks, and we are slowly moving on from Elliotte's depart. We have to be strong, because we have other two cats who are also going through the grieving process.

I noticed that since I haven't been taking as many photos as I usually did the past 7 years, without my camera I feel like an extension of me is missing. When you are not a professional photographer, and yet you are taking photos almost everyday, it becomes part of who you are, part of your essence. Let's face it, in a virtual world like the one we live in right now; words can say a lot of things, but images become the universal language of all sorts of emotions. Words talk to your brain, but photos open your heart to the rest of the message.

With all of this being said, and because of the type of work I do with my blog, I thought it would be a brilliant opportunity to invite Photography Brands to join forces with me, so that I can bring some more photographic magic into this world, and also give an honest review of your sponsored product. Once again, I might not be a professional photographer, but in a time where everyone holds a camera in their hand, isn't it better to promote products that are targeting non-professional photographers by word of mouth from another fellow amateur photographer?

To any potential sponsors seeing this, I can make you a promise; If I literally had my camera everyday with me, capturing moments of everything I could possibly see (even some things I couldn't really see with my bare eyes) for seven years. That means that your sponsored product will get publicity for a very, VERY, long time. I always have people asking me about the camera I use when people see my photos, especially because I am not a professional photographer. Sometimes they didn't even believe it was a point-and-shoot device. I once was told about a photography contest in which the winner had the cheapest camera, but was creative enough to use it underwater and take an amazing photo that blew people's minds. From that I learned that it is not really the device, but the person behind it adding their personal soul and magic into the click. And I truly believe that, though having a great camera doesn't hurt either, right? It only adds to the endless possibilities.

If you have read all the way up to here, I truly and humbly thank you for your time. I really had to write this, because in a way, it also became an ode to my camera. It is strange, but I really feel like my camera was an extension of me, and now a very important aspect of my personality is gone. With your help, I could become a better photographer, and with my story, hopefully also inspire others to capture as many life events as possible, you really never know if you will be in the right place, at the right time ever again to take that perfect shot, and show the world.


Thank you
Disclosure: This is not a sponsored blog post, but an invitation to find Digital Camera Sponsors for future reviews and support of this blog. All images are copyrighted and the property of The Happy Reviewers Blog. All, but the one in Ireland, were taken by Missha Vara, owner of this blog. I give the credit of the one in Ireland to the park officer that kindly took a picture of me in a place I had dreamed. All content is 100% my honest opinion.