The female photography business has risen from the ashes of injury | News, sports, jobs

Kim Guttridge Floyd of Warren Melissa Channel, owner of Phoenix Photography, shows photos she took of the Warren G. Harding football team.

WARREN – Kim Guthridge Floyd is made of tough stuff. Growing up with three brothers – Jack, Bob and Mark Guthridge – can have that effect.

She has been married for 30 years to her husband, Philip, who is a disabled veteran with Parkinson’s disease. Kim Floyd is also a veteran. She served in the Army and was stationed as a bodyguard in Washington, DC by former President Ronald Reagan.

Floyd, who owns a photography business called Phoenix Photography, recently raised $30,000 for a fund to send to the Ukraine after showing a picture of a field of sunflowers used as inspiration for a painting by Austintown artist Ron Moore Jr. (who has Parkinson’s). . She says her photo and Moore’s follow-up show the importance of collaboration.

Floyd is an independent tomboy. Her older brother played baseball at Boardman High School with Major Leaguer Dave Dravecki and later joined the Navy. He died in an industrial accident in Virginia.

Floyd said she first became interested in playing sports when she was 4 years old and was a batter on her brothers’ t-ball team. She became interested in photography at the same age when her grandmother gave her an old camera.

Floyd grew up in Boardman, attended the Boardman Local School District and played all she could while growing up. In fact, she was a member of Boardman’s first soccer team.

However, her dream of continuing to play sports ended when she was in a championship softball game against a team from New York.

“I was hit so hard in the back of the head that I suffered a fractured skull and was never allowed to play again.” Floyd said.

That injury made her decide to pick up her camera again. And since Floyd couldn’t play sports anymore, her next natural choice was sports photography. She began photographing school sports and took pictures of Lynn Bowden Jr. playing for Warren G. Harding High School.

Floyd’s passion for sports and photography has led her to dream of becoming a photographer for a professional sports team or sports magazine. The verse said. “A picture is worth a thousand words.” Fred R. Barnard influenced her, and she wanted to do it “Inspire young women to become sports photographers.”

Floyd likes to think of her mother and brother looking down on her and being proud of her.

“I am a strong supporter of women’s sports and the youth of today.” She said.

Floyd starts photographing kids from tee-ball and follows them all the way to graduation.

She likes to watch. “The kids light up when they see her come with the camera.” And it is “It’s great to see how they’ve improved over the years.”

Floyd photographs both boys and girls sports teams, but her heart is in being a role model and inspiration for girls sports.

The name of Floyd’s photography studio, Phoenix Photography, comes from her motto. Sometimes you have to die a little inside to be reborn and rise up a stronger and wiser version of yourself.

“Through everything I’ve been through in life, I consider myself a phoenix. The phoenix represents eternity, strength and renewal. Floyd said.

She said she believes it is part of God’s plan to showcase these young athletes and their talents, and also to show young women that it is possible to be a female sports photographer.