Shelby Keller, From San Jose, California, 4 Fans, 0 Hubs, Joined 6 days ago
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An Interview with Shelby Keller
HubPages' newest moderator shares her fascinating background
1. Could you tell us a bit about yourself? What would be a perfect day for Shelby Keller?
A little bit about me... lets see... I am 27 and a competitive swimmer. I have degrees in Radio Broadcasting and Deviant Sociology, and used to work on the Sarah & Vinnie Morning Show at Alice@97.3 and volunteer in San Quentin. I am a professional photographer. I have the cutest puppy ever (Wren), and just moved to Willow Glen with my amazing boyfriend (Conor). I am very excited to be working at HubPages, everyone seems awesome. I love to read books, but am terrified of paper. I also love Maddie; I have for years. As far as my perfect day... I would have to say something involving a beach, my puppy, my boyfriend, and my camera.
2. You share on your profile that you are an Air-to-Air Aviation Photographer - could you tell us more about that?
Basically it means that I go up in a plane and take photographs of other planes flying in formation with the plane I am in. I work with a company in Southern California called Aviator Flight Training that does formation flights for air shows, usually in WWII era vintage 1planes. I am on their flight team, and go up with them during air shows and photograph the formation flights. It is a lot of fun, but can also be a bit nerve-wracking at times because the planes usually fly in tight formation (about 10-15 feet apart) and I am often in an open cockpit plane flying inverted. I am working on my pilot's license right now, and have completed my flight hours and stunt training - now I just have to find time to go to ground school.
3. You also share that you are the San Francisco Peninsula Area Coordinator & Affiliated Photographer for the Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep Foundation. Could you tell us a bit more about the foundation?
NILMDTS is a national non-profit that is entirely volunteer based, and does "infant remembrance" photography. When there is a newborn that will not be going home with the family - usually due to stillbirth, miscarriage, or genetic disorder - they have the option of having one of our photographers come to the hospital and do a professional portrait session with the family and their baby free of charge. All the photographs are done in black and white, and are given to the families on a DVD to do with as they wish. As the Area Coordinator, I am on 24-hour call and work directly with the Labor & Delivery and NICU staff at hospitals from San Jose to San Francisco taking photo session requests and dispatching photographers; and also personally taking session request that fall outside of the foundation's guidelines - so anytime a baby is less then 25 weeks gestation, there is more then one baby, the baby has been deceased for more then a few hours, will likely pass during the photo session, or is being taken off life support during the session. Because of the emotional impact the sessions can have on the photographers, the foundation requires Area Coordinators to cover sessions that might be more difficult. But as emotionally draining as it can be, it is so worth it to be able to offer the service to the families. If you have any questions or want to know more about it feel free to ask me, or you can watch this segment on NILMDTS from NBC's Today Show.
4. What do you enjoy reading about?
Just about anything that is written well. I love learning about new things. I really like reading books and manuals that tell me how to do different tricks with my photo editing programs, then trying them out myself. Oh, and I love Poe. I use to read a lot of Poe as a kid, and still have all of Annabel Lee and most of The Raven memorized.
5. Do you write at all? Do you think you'll write any Hubs on HubPages? And if so, what do you think you might write about?
I used to write books when I was in high school, but haven't in a long time. I would definitely love to write a Hub; and Paul E. asked me to write one on my work with the Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep Foundation, so I think that will be my first one.
6. Fun/random question: If an album or movie soundtrack played in the background of your life, what would it be?
Wow... I have no idea. I don't know that there is one. My life has been far too random, and my musical taste is far too eclectic, to have just one album fit well. Cool question, though.
7. Is there anything else you'd like to say to the HubPages community?
Thank you for inviting me to join you, and I can't wait to get to know everyone better!
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