Photo Blog: Lavender Tattoo

Lavender Tattoo was captured at the Iowa State Fair. I was in the midst of a huge flower garden with cute, little, arched bridges and walkways going in and over the garden. I think I went through the entire place at least 4 times scanning and imagining how to capture the beautiful botanicals. I took my time taking in the aroma and views and later got out my camera to capture my favorite herb… Lavender.

I named it “Lavender Tattoo” because it reminds me of my cousin, Emma, in Nova Scotia, CA, who gave me a simple and personal stick-and-poke tattoo of a lavender stalk. It brings so many fun and wonderful memories seeing my tattoo and also this photograph!

Photo Blog: Radiate Confidence

Traveling back to farmer John’s massive garden, I couldn’t take my lens off of the abundance of sunflowers. Radiate Confidence represents the feeling I had when I walked through the garden and suddenly became immersed in 6-7 foot tall sunflowers; I couldn’t help but feel completely filled with love and joy as I gazed upward at these amazing plants. My heart literally felt like it was getting a big hug from the sunflowers; it sounds weird, but it’s true and I don’t know how else to describe it. The biggest reward from this Property shoot I did for John was when he sent me a Thank You card with a sunflower on the front. He showed his gratitude by explaining how he really appreciated a fresh perspective of his farm and garden. When you live the same day over and over it’s hard to remember what amazing and beautiful results are happening because of your hard work, and I am very proud and happy that John got to remember how wonderful his property and work ethic is.

Photo Blog: The Path of Existence

The Path of Existence is a representation of the different paths we all take in life. Each path has branch-off paths in our own individual lives, and each life has it’s own individual path. To me this photo displays a calm, quiet, alone (but not lonely), simple, and peaceful path which perfectly represents the path I was on at that time in my own life. It was September 2018 and I was finally my own self, finally able to embrace every single part of what makes me me, finally able to be the strong and independent woman I had craved and tried to be for so many years in the past. I had escaped the fulmination, destruction, and abuse, and entered into a new life of freedom and peace! What a beautiful state to live now!

Photo Blog: God’s Country

God’s Country was captured in my back yard. I went outside for a cigarette one summer evening, looked to the South-East, and freaked out! The sky was bright pink. I quickly put my cig in the can and ran inside to grab my camera and tripod! My husband saw me frantically getting to my office and knew exactly what was going on… he definitely knows my physical signs of a great photograph! I knew this pink-sky-moment wasn’t going to last more than 5 minutes, so I ran to the back yard, set up my composition, and then the battle began.

It was around 65 degrees (f) in our house that day, and 89 degrees (f) outside. I remember those specific temperatures well because when I took my camera outside I struggled to keep the fog off my lens. Take a photo, wipe the lens, take a photo, wipe the lens, take a pho- … you get it. But man, was I ecstatic when I got this baby into my computer! It was 100% worth the [literal] sweat.

Photo Blog: Mystery Mountains

Mystery Mountains was taken at Cape Forchu Lighthouse in Nova Scotia, Canada. At the time (September 2018) this was one of my most proud photographs containing fog or mist of any sort. I fell in love with the amount of fog, how the cliffs faded out perfectly, the composition I chose (I tried quite a few for this particular photo), and the way the water on the left side fades out into mystery! I have printed this on a medium gloss paper as a 10x8 for my office desk, and it is still so uplifting so see whenever I sit down and start working.

Photo Blog: A Window to the Heart

I captured A Window to the Heart in an area of the CAT ferry I was not supposed to be exploring in. I got a glimpse of a fantastic photo opportunity so I snuck my way through the railings, got into a position where I couldn’t fall and die, and started shooting! I did get caught, so did my due diligence and "sincerely apologized, but then I showed the crew member the photos I was taking. Low and behold he was impressed and told me I could stay for five more minutes to “get the shot”! I was so surprised because I thought for sure I was about to get yelled at, but it turned out that I met a really nice dude who had an appreciation for art.

Some advice for beginner (and even professional) photographers: always take the risk! You never know if something will be spectacular unless to you put yourself out there and take risks! Obviously don’t do anything illegal… that’s just ignorant.

Photo Blog: Emotional Rush

Emotional Rush was captured on The CAT from Maine, USA to Nova Scotia, Canada. It was a beautiful, clear day and I was feeling the crisp breeze blowing my thick hair all around my face, enjoying a hurricane cocktail while standing on the back deck of the ferry. With my camera around my neck, I took in the freedom of being a photographer traveling North America. Nothing could change my positive attitude, and nothing did; it was as blissful as bliss could get. Watching the flowing waves as the sun went down made me feel as if I would live forever.

Photo Blog: Plant Wisdom

Plant Wisdom is another photograph from my Property shoot with farmer John. I have to say, this is unanimously the favorite photo of the lot. The lighting is like a kiss from heaven, the tomatoes are a plump satisfaction of hard work, and the atmosphere of the plant really does take you back to a simple, healthy, and gratifying time! The editing I did on this photo was a touch of contrast and a smidge of sharpening to really bring out the details in the leaves and fruit. Other than that, it is absolute perfection all on it’s own!