About the Photographer

My name is Teresa  Harigian` Nielson ; and I'm a Bakersfield gal born raised.  I am a proud mom of a son, Harold, who came into our life when he was eight.  Sonny, as I call him, has made a proud grandmother of a beautiful set of twins.  Kendal and her brother Kevin, age 6 and Ryan who is 12 years old.   Sadly, they live out-of-state, but we visit whenever possible.  Last but certainly not least, I have two fur kids.  Bailey...... “I am so cute you can't stand it” an 8-1/2 year old Shih-Po and “Miss Molly.....”A super cuddle bug” who is 6 and also a Shih-Po.  Both are always willing models for my photography.

My mother, Edie, introduced me to art and color through her love of painting.  Her favorite subject was roses done in (Oils).  Through her I learned sketching, color and composition.  However, painting and drawing were not really for me, but photography called and called LOUDLY.  As luck would have it I was hired by Skaggs to manage their in-store photo lab.  It was a match made in heaven and I spent 24 with them, leaving with specialty training and certifications from Noritsu in Color Processing and Printing.

Film faded and the digital age came roaring in. The cameras changed, but good composition and color never, ever goes out of style and this gave me a head start in learning and eventually teaching Photoshop at Cal State Bakersfield.

I met Don Mason through Kern Photography Association. As an accomplished photographer himself, he happily served as the group's resident Pro We were Kindred spirits and immediately hit it off.  I was so fortunate that Don chose to first mentor me in everything photography and then providing extensive training in Art Reproduction.  Don had an amazing eye for color and wrote several books on Color Management for Adobe and other.  He was considered “The Master” of Art Reproduction and loved creating a print that was an exact replica of an artist’s work. I was blessed to have mentored by Don for 5 years before he passed in 2012, from cancer. Being a 20 year Cancer survivor myself, I knew I wanted to be his caregiver as he battled his own fight with Cancer. I felt this was a way I could give back to him all that he had taught me.   I miss him think about him every day as I too bring artists work to life in print form.

Of course my love of photography does not end with Art Reproduction; I love to create beautiful portraits.  Photographing Children, maternity, High School Seniors, families and corp. head shots.