Judith, Deliver Us

“Judith, Deliver Us is a folk musical reimagining of the Book of Judith and is set in a fictional 1920s coal town. The musical focuses on themes of autonomy of person and place, fair labor practices, and gender roles.” from the official press release

Recently I had the pleasure of photographing a wonderful musical by Hannah Gregory. It was my first time photographing theatre and let me tell you, I AM HOOKED. It was so inspiring to witness actors in their element. It is an art form that blows me away. To be able to step into another role, another world, and make it believable is a true talent. I spent two days photographing the dress rehearsal, and getting a behind the scenes peek at the way everything comes together was fascinating. I tend to ask a lot of questions when I get to discover something new, especially when I have the chance to witness an artist’s process. Everyone was so friendly and open to my curiosity. I am grateful to have met so many kind new friends.

Hannah has been working on this musical for over two years. Seeing it come together and sell out every night was really exciting. We had been in talks for months about how to collaborate since we share similar aesthetics, and documenting the musical through my dreamy, filtered lens felt like the perfect fit.

Photographing theatre reminded me of photographing music, watching the light and movement, following the emotion, and sometimes catching unpredictable moments speaks deeply to me. I started my photography career with music, and this experience felt like reigniting that flame within me.

Judith, Deliver Us is an empowering story loosely based on the story of Judith in the Bible. It is about reclaiming power from greedy people who want to drain both the land and its people. The theme “by any means necessary” rang true, as in the musical Judith used the power of seduction to seek revenge for her broken heart and for her community. I was so moved by the rehearsal that I ended up attending the show as an audience member, and it brought me to tears. I truly hope this musical gets another run, many more runs so that more people can experience it.

A few behind the scenes and in between. I am so grateful to have met these amazing artist! Thank you for everything.

Laura in the Woods

I truly believe the more we nurture to the land, the more it will nurture us. We are in a symbiotic relationship with nature. Though we may not hear it speaking in a language that all of us can understand, it is always speaking. I visit the same locations again and again for my photo sessions. I believe each session is an offering. In return we are gifted beautiful art. Yes, I know I am the one holding the camera, and whoever I am photographing is also a participant. But any artist will tell you, there is something else alive when you are in the flow of creation. Something that only comes from surrender and trust. When you enter flow the muse gets to come play with you. In my practice sometimes the muse comes via the land. I trust the land. I trust the sun. I trust myself. I trust that whatever is meant to happen during a session will happen.

This session with Laura was food for our souls. The world can seem very dark right now, but as a parent hope is a light that can never go out. Life is always longing to live. Connecting with each other in intimate spaces, open and vulnerable is what keeps the hope in my heart alive. Sending so much love to this sweet Laura as she will soon be welcoming her sweet babe into the world. <3

Hello Again

It feels so strange to me to be back in the blogging world, but I want to give it a try. Many years ago, in my early years of building my business, blogging was how most photographers showed their work and advertised their business. I felt really drawn to sharing stories about my experiences with people. It felt like my little home on the web and it felt safe. You can look back on this blog and even google my first blog to see how much it has been a part of my growth. I cringe at myself sometimes, but I was a person trying to figure myself out, as I still am, so I give myself grace. Social media replaced blogging and our attention span grew shorter. It was much easier for me to post a couple of photos and a short caption. Blogging became a chore, especially while trying to balance Motherhood and my business. Though I love social media for how much it has helped my business and art grow, sometimes it makes me feel yucky. It’s addicting and it is so fast moving. I don’t digest much and sometimes I don’t want to digest what is coming in. Not saying I want to turn a blind eye to anything going on in the world, but my mental health really suffers sometimes with the influx of pain and suffering. And the ads drive me nuts. As soon as I say something in a conversation, there it is in my feed. Sell, sell, sell. Even as a business owner who has to sell herself it all feels so gross to me. I have to take breaks to be sure my thoughts are my own as I can feel myself being influenced by what I am taking in.

So here I am, back on my blog. My last post was 2022 and it was a kind of forced post. Me trying to dip back in then. I love that photo session with my dear friend so much and I remememeber when I did it I wanted to share more about the experience, not just the photos. So this is what I plan on doing. Sharing the experience, the heart, the reason I am still taking photos after all of these years. It is not easy to maintain the ever so quickly changing business that is photography. Sometimes I want to give up and find a steady job that is secure and doesn’t require me to be online so much. But, I know in my heart I can’t. The lives I am invited into mean so much to me. The stories, the art, it is my purpose. I can’t run from my purpose.

I can promise you I will have lots of typos and poor grammer here. I refuse to use AI to help me write. I want you to be able to trust that it is my voice you are reading. I know I will stumble a lot and that’s ok. I am constantly in flux, learning and growing. I preach grace instead of shame and I want to make sure I am embodying that always. I will probably move backwards and upside sharing both new and old work. I am making up the rules as I go.

If you are here now, thank you. If you have been here throughout the almost 20 years I have been on this journey, I love you. Here we are again. Please feel free to comment or send me messages anytime you want.

Celeste and Iris (From Long Ago)

Celeste is an amazing woman with so many talents and strengths. She is a beautiful writer, mother, farmer, lover. Her coming into my life has been a blessing since day one.

Watching other mothers with their children is so beautiful to me. I like the simplicity of shooting at home, where people are most comfortable. When I think about the images of my son and I that are special to me, it is photos of us being naturally ourselves. I want to look back to see bits of our home, things we used to do together.

Hemlock Branch

I had the pleasure of helping Hemlock Branch create some images for promotion this past year.

Sara and Emily

This shoot is about best friends celebrating over 15 years of support and friendship. We are also celebrating our sweet Sara’s glorious journey into Motherhood. I was so thrilled when Sara reached out about this session. These two sweet women mean so much to me. They are dear friends of mine. I have had the extreme honor of documenting so many special moments in their lives. They are both artist, so they push me to get as wild as I want with their images. We shot 35mm, Polaroid, Holga, and digital, each medium adds it’s own special charm.

Sara’s babe, Ziggy will be here soon. Send her lots of love and good vibes for a safe, gentle birth.

Maria and Desi

A mother and her son happy, enjoying each other in one of their favorite places to go together. I just want to celebrate this joy today. I want to sit with their smiles and appreciate the fact that they shared their love with me. Maria and Desi, you are an inspiration. <3

Facory Events Spring Shoot

I recently had the opportunity to create with some very amazing women. Celeste of Village General had the idea of doing a Spring shoot for fun. She called up Chelsee of Conscious Seed to bring some of her amazing self care/love products and styling skills, and I contacted one of my favorite muses Amber to model for us. Sarah at Factory Events offered her beautiful, light filled space. It was the perfect day!

The past year has been so wild, we just wanted to use the shoot as a reason to get loose and have some fun. I love how dreamy and warm everything turned out. Please check out all of these amazing Woman owned businesses and show them lots of love.

Family Photos at French Park

When it was warmer out, I got to spend some time with one of my favorite families for some very unconventional family photos. I also wanted to spend a little time celebrating this very sweet woman who I adore. We mixed it up and had a whole lot of fun. I am grateful for friends who are family and for their continued support and love.