there have been moments when i've been
out shooting landscapes where i've cried
because there's things in front of me
that i just can't believe are even real
so this competition stands out for me
because i think it's just so important
to love what you do
[Music]
my name is beth mancuso and i'm from
zimmerman minnesota
at home we have six kids we're a big
blended family
i have three sons and my husband has
three daughters
we're a brady bunch bye mom
my children originally inspired me to
pick up the camera
i captured a picture of my son and you
know i could see his
eyes and they were just so piercing
really felt like i could see like the
window of his soul i think that from
that moment on i
just kind of got hooked photography has
gotten me through a lot of tough times
for me it's kind of like my therapy
when my middle son ezra was two he was
diagnosed with leukemia
and he had to undergo chemotherapy
there's nothing like thinking that your
child might not live
and that really changed me as a person
and as a parent
it gave me just such an appreciation for
for life um
and for the moments that i get to have
you know with my children
i think it's made me a better person as
well
i do all kinds of photography mostly
portraits
and landscape and travel images i really
like to get myself
in the frame helps show the scale of the
environment
for me it's the ability to freeze time
and
to capture a moment and know that i'm
gonna be able to look back
on it or that my kids are gonna be able
to look back on it and then it's gonna
tell their story
i'm so passionate about what i'm doing
i'm so
excited to you know make this into
something more
and i hope that when people see my
images that they're
inspired to get out and push themselves
creatively
i think it's really great that both
mazda and national geographic want to
inspire people through photography
it's such a you know world language that
we can all speak
[Music]
i'm just really proud that they chose me
i'm hell-bent to do this as a career
i've had some successes over the years i
don't think i ever envisioned this