If one were to look up the word “overachiever” in the dictionary, they might find a picture of Austin Leih.
At the age of 12, the Flower Mound youngster is an accomplished photographer, an avid swimmer, a straight-A student and runs his own business.
Leih, a sixth-grader at McKamy Middle School, said his passion for photography began as a young child.
“It started kind of with my interest in wildlife,” Leih said. “I used to mess around in a creek as a kid, and I started wanting to capture that, so I used my dad’s home video camera to capture it, and then when we moved to Texas, I continued to do so.
“As that progressed, I became interested in photography, and I kept taking pictures, and it sort of grew into what it is now.”
Leih, originally from St. Louis, Missouri, said photography is a great passion for him, but added that he tries to keep it in its proper perspective.
“I try not to get too serious about it, because if I get too serious, I sort of lose my flow,” Leih said. “I try to keep it low key. But when I do get a good shot, I work on it until I get what I want out of it.”
Leih said his most popular photo was one taken of a stream in Mammoth, California.
The McKamy student said photography is something he wants to pursue as far as he possibly can, and said he is pretty successful with his business right now.
“It would be really, really cool if I could make it my career,” Leih said. “I do fairly well for myself with it right now. I make enough to be able to by new gear.”
Leih uses a Canon 1000d. His photos, which are used on cards, are available for purchase at Just What I Wanted, a gift shop at the corner of FM 2499 and FM 407 in the Target shopping center.
Visit www.gatewayimages.jimdo.com to see some of Leih’s photos.
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