In 1991, while most artists were off at college getting degrees, Megan Baker was still living in her mother’s ute... more

In 1991, while most artists were off at college getting degrees, Megan Baker was still living in her mother’s uterus. Then one fateful night in a central Illinois hospital, she escaped...

She wasn’t born into a family of photographers, and her mother is incapable of figuring out how to turn on a camera. Where she got the knack for photography remains a mystery. The love of it started around the age of four, when Megan picked up the family Polaroid and began documenting the melodramatic lives of her toys.

Megan joined 4-H at age 9, and used it as an outlet for her work. In the first year, she won both county and state photography competitions, including ‘Best of the Best’ Illinois State Awards. That continued until age 13, when Megan lost for the first time. Being a sore loser, Megan ran around the backyard with a rubber mallet and hit things. Her parents did not sign her up for 4-H the following year. But by then she was already making the money from print sales and weddings and d