There is no question that Cedar Park High school is home to some talented students, one of those students being senior Kaity Dawson. Dawson started getting interested in photography a little over a year ago, and from there her passion seemed to take off, leading to her forming her own photography business, and winning awards such as the People’s Choice Award at Round Rock Art Council.

“I started getting interested in photography about a year and a half ago now,” Dawson said. “The more I started taking pictures, the more I started realizing how much I loved it.”

The Round Rock Art Council held several talented artists, presenting a multitude of different medium, from painting and drawing, to photography and 3D sculpture. This year Dawson presented a piece titled “Boots.”

“My piece was a photo I took earlier this year called ‘Boots,’” Dawson said. “Which was basically a picture of these really old looking boots standing in the middle of a pathway surrounded by a lot of yellow flowers. It’s definitely one of my favorite photos.”

Dawson stated that the reason the picture was so special was the fact that it wasn’t a portrait shot, which is what she usually takes.

“I think the picture tells a story about a journey,” Dawson said. “My favorite aspect of photography is getting to shoot and use different ideas that I thought of and making them my own, which is an amazing feeling.”

While photography is Dawson’s true passion, according to her it doesn’t come without its trials.

“My least favorite part is trying to find outfits for my models to wear for shoots,” Dawson said. “Usually the ideas I have require some old dress or something kind of out of the ordinary.”

Along with winning her People’s Choice Award for her photography, Dawson was also awarded five Gold Keys at the Scholastic Art awards; a Gold Key is the highest level of achievement a student can receive at the regional level.

“I’ve always loved doing art in general,” Dawson said. “Over time I think I’ve realized that photography is my true passion. It’s my way of expressing myself and my feelings in a way that I know I am uniquely showing them.”