The 732 Story

I started off as an art major while attending Snead State Community College. During my time there I studied under a seasoned professor named Wanda Bearden. She patiently developed my understanding of composition and scale until, after three semesters, I changed my major to Public Communications. 

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At the time, the two majors felt like different worlds competing for my attention. I couldn't visualize a future where they would coexist and wouldn't realize the significance of their pairing until over a decade later. 

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In Fall 2011 I transferred to the University of North Alabama as a Public Communications major with a concentration on Interpersonal Communication. As graduation day approached in Spring 2014 I imagined myself reviewing a pile of high profile job offers at a mahogany desk. Nine months after graduation I was driving a forklift in the warehouse of a building supply company wearing Carhartt coveralls wondering why anyone ever goes to college in the first place. 

I endured a handful of pity parties, half a dozen new jobs, and a couple of legitimate tragedies before hitting a low point in Winter 2021. (If you know how to play the violin this is your moment.) I was back where I started the day I graduated college with no external evidence of professional progress after almost a decade of restless effort. 

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In a genuine attempt to make sense of how my skills fit into the world around me I humbled myself before God and asked for guidance. I remember holding my hands out in front of me with my palms up and nothing to give in exchange for the help I was asking for. In that moment I made a vow that if God would put something in my hands I would honor it with my best. 

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For reference, if you've ever seen the first Harry Potter movie where he gets his wand in Ollivander's wand shop accompanied by rushing wind and magical music... it was nothing like that. I did, however, receive a very clear vision of a camera in my open hands. 

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In a modest early effort to honor what I had asked for I took a selfie-stick and my cellphone to the local cycle studio and asked if I could capture some content for them. A few weeks later the owner, Eliza, gave me my first break as their content creator with a start date of January 1, 2023. 

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The Christmas before my start date I spent all the money left to my name and bought a Canon R6 for $3,500. For the next six months straight I woke up at 4AM every morning for six days a week to take pictures and videos of the 5:15AM class and post something on Instagram before my wife would leave for work at 6AM. Once she left I would shift gears and take care of our 15 month old son for the rest of the day. 

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It was a lonely beginning far from any glamorous imaginations from childhood about what it would look like to start my own business but by the grace of God I held true to my vows and committed myself to the craft of professional photography. Somewhere along the way I saw the two declared majors of my college education merge into a cohesive vision of my future: using an art form (photography) to communicate with others. This clarity gave birth to what is now 732 Photography, LLC and it's ability to bring value to everyone we serve. 

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Epilogue:

For anyone who can't see how the pieces of their life could possibly fit together to form a cohesive picture of hope I offer my story as a practical example of God's ability to take the broken pieces of your life and put them together into a mosaic of His eternal mercy and unchanging goodness. 

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Caleb Canoles

owner / photographer