We had the good fortune of connecting with MacKenzie Hughes and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi MacKenzie, have you ever found yourself in a spot where you had to decide whether to give up or keep going? How did you make the choice?
After leaving a 20 year career in the photo retail world, I had to make a decision whether or not to continue with something I loved: making people excited about making images with their own camera…no matter what camera, age, skill, or any other walk of life.
The enjoyment of taking pictures for yourself is one thing…teaching, encouraging, inspiring and getting others excited to fall in love what they captured is the real thrill for me.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Although, I recently have concluded a 20 year run, managing camera store, creating the Fort Worth Foto Fest/Funkytown Focus which yielded a successful association with the Fort Worth Film Commission, I have recently started Aledo Aperture Academy: a series of photo walks, workshops, discussions and presentations that are open to everyone and free of charge.
I wanted to continue sharing the enjoyment of imaging with as many as possible, despite a “day gig” in sepperate industry 😉

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I love our region of Texas. Just the other day, my wife Brenda and I enjoyed a country drive through Granbury and then onto Highway 51 through Paluxy, then to Fosil Rim, Glen Rose & Hico.
We live in Aledo, and I’m a “Fort Worth guy” but, I do enjoy the less developed landscapes and Americana of the back roads: perfect for environmental portraits or your favorite landscape photo exercise.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
The independent/local camera store.
Supporting a local camera store & photo lab is how exactly how I got into the industry. Where I’m from in Redding Ca., there was Crown Camera: a 50-year-old business that had seen the entire evolution of the photo world from film to digital…and then back to film again. The owner, Gary Engel gave me the confidence to not only celebrate the fun and creativity of photography but more importantly, share it with others.

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