Thursday, Jan. 03 2013 4:36PM

Never missing a moment

Photographer Chris Moretina featured in Fourth Friday

By Ashlee Hendrix

Ahendrix@lsjournal.com

From now until the end of January at Mingle Chris Moretina’s photography will be on display. Moretina was featured Dec. 28 for Downtown Lee’s Summit Main Street’s Fourth Friday. His photography features beautiful architectural images from around the world.

Moretina’s passion for photography stems from a young age. When he was 11 years old, he looked up in the sky and saw the face of Jesus in the clouds. He went inside to retrieve a Kodak pocket camera to capture the image and when he returned, the image was gone.

“From that moment on, I decided I never wanted to miss a moment,” Moretina said. He has carried a camera everywhere with him since, and the love of taking pictures has grown throughout his life.

As he made the transition into retirement he began to turn his talent into a business. He shoots weddings, private sittings and special occasions just to name a few and said he enjoys getting to be a part of a couple’s special day.

Moretina’s photography has taken him many places including to Ponte di Legno, Italy to take photographs of his great-grandparents hometown. “It is my favorite place to photograph because of all the beautiful architecture and I would love to go back.” He has also taken photographs of local architecture including Union Station and Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts.

He works from a small studio in his home in Belton but isn’t limited to staying in one place.

“My real studio is out in the world, experiencing the different cultures and trying to capture that special image in each one.”