Tommy Van · 🎬 Memoir Skool 📸

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Tommy Van

My Third Life – New Mexico

When I left Los Angeles and came to New Mexico with my three-year-old daughter, I was starting over again.

Tommy Van completely believed in me and my photography. He insisted that I start my own business and get a business license. That’s how Photography by Cristal was born.

I was 35 years old, and Tommy was so proud of my work and everything I had accomplished in my life that he did everything he could to support it. He made sure I had computers, printers, lighting, backdrops—everything I needed to build a real studio and start my own photography business.

He even sold guitars and equipment he had left just to help make sure I had what I needed to succeed.

This photo was taken during that time. Tommy was constantly helping me test lighting and backdrops, taking photos of me so we could show clients what we were capable of creating. He even brought his close friend, photographer Tom Mars from Phoenix, to meet me so we could collaborate and grow the business.

That was Tommy.

He believed in me before my photography business even had a chance to prove itself.

And because of that, Photography by Cristal was born.

Some people ride through your life like a song from the Sunset Strip—loud, unforgettable, and impossible to forget. Tommy Van

Tommy and I shared decades of life together—long before we were ever married. He was the sound man for Judas Priest for 15 years, rode a Harley, took me to the Rainbow on Sunset to see bands like Mötley Crüe, and once had me riding on the back of his motorcycle in a pink tutu with bottles of Tickle Pink.

That was the rock-and-roll Tommy.

But there was another side of him too.

When I moved to New Mexico and started my third life, Tommy believed in my photography more than anyone. He pushed me to start my own business and helped me build Photography by Cristal from the ground up.

The photo here is one Tommy took during our early lighting tests when we went to Whitesands

Tommy didn’t just take pictures of me.

He helped me build the life behind the camera.

Rock-and-roll rides and studio lights—Tommy was part of both chapters of my life.

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