Tyler Potts was born on June 9, 1993, on Whidbey Island, about 30 miles (48 km) north of Seattle.  Do not be fooled by her young age!  Her relationship with the camera began early.  Tyler was first introduced to photography while modeling for her mother, who was taking a photography class.  She got her first camera as a 13^th birthday gift from her mom.  That was on June 9, 2006!  One of her biggest influences has been her mother, who got her whole family together to raise the money for her equipment costs.  We think Tyler’s mom is pretty neat.

Tyler didn’t need no photography classes.  She is self-taught, and already had two art shows on Whidbey Island before finishing high school.  She has sold no less than 8 pieces and wants to make a career out of photography.  This is what she was put on Earth to do and she will stop at nothing to make it happen.

Growing up in a very small community, Tyler quickly learned that there were advantages like more opportunities, living in the city.  So, she decided to apply to Seattle Central Creative Academy.  She continued to work at an art store on the island during her one year on the waitlist, learning as much as she could about photography.  Now she is living with her aunt, while she keeps the dream alive.  Growing up in a small town taught her to keep her friends close and her enemies closer.

“That’s the thing about living in a small town,” she said. “You never know who you might need to, like, call on for help, and when, y’know?  I was the cheer captain of my school.  Only 30 out of 70 people graduated.  That’s a small town for ya.”

She hasn’t done a lot of travelling yet, but her strangest travel experience happened when she was visiting a friend in Arkansas.  While standing outside a restaurant after dinner, she started chatting with a fella about being from the Seattle area.  When the topic of the Sonics basketball team came up, things got heated.

“He just started insisting the Sonics moved to Oklahoma in 2005 and I know it was 2008 because that year I was in seventh grade and I know it was later than that,” Tyler reported, twirling her hair. “But he kept, you know, insisting that it was in ’05 and I kept insisting it wasn’t and before you knew it, we were fighting on the street and he pulled out a gun.  It was really scary.”

Amongst many other things, Tyler would love to get a Bachelor’s degree in photography at Seattle University, and then get another Bachelor’s in History.  Then she’s gonna take off to Europe and travel and go scuba diving.  After she makes her first million, she plans to buy her mom a mansion and a Ferrari and a Mark Wahlberg as payback for all her love and endless support over the years.

As we speak, young Tyler is somewhere on the 5^th floor, dreaming and talking, dreaming and talking, dreaming and talking her heart out about conspiracy theories, tattoos, mermaids, UFOs and anything strange and magical.