The Story of a Photographer


When I was a young girl, somewhere around 12 or 13, I got my first camera as a gift. It was a 110 Kodak Tele-Intamatic 608. Shortly after receiving my gift, I brought it to a church retreat. I walked around unsure on what to take a photo of because I knew I would have to pay for my film and development with my babysitting money. So I walked and walked.  Then, I walked into an experience that changed my life.  The official beginning of the retreat was the releasing from under a net of what seemed like thousands of helium balloons.  

 

When I put my eye up to the viewfinder and started snapping photos as I walked closer and closer. I was hooked..it felt like I was at home, like when my eye was on the viewfinder the world was right. I continued to take a series of pictures as the balloons released.

 

Right after the retreat I sent the film away to get developed, unsure of the mystery ahead. It was worth the wait and work I did to save up the money... seeing these printed beauties' in my hands sparked the same feeling that I had taking those pictures. That's when the power of the photograph came fully alive for me.

 

Capturing a moment in life, like the releasing of the balloons, thirty five years later it still awakens the same feeling again as well as the joy of being a child at those retreats.

 

It is still what drives me.. catching life in all its moments. The good, bad, funny, sad, and above all honest moments.  Creating a  visual journal that can help us relive, rewrite, and preserve some of the things we hold dearest in life. That  hard copy of that memory can bring me to an array of feelings, like thankfulness, joy, awestruck, and peace.

 

I now have the opportunity to share with you and be a part of capturing your life moments.. My priority is to provide a customizable photography experience. One that is built around your needs and desires. One that is built around your unique story. One that is built around capturing life…however it unfolds in front of us..


My studio is located in our new home on Lake Sacajawea, which is part of the Snake River.  I feel very thankful to be back by the water.   I grew up on a lake in Northern Michigan and try to be near water or the outdoors as much as possible.  I am most at home when I am near nature, seeing and feeling God bigger than me.

Gold Standard

What does that mean?


This is not a reference to a monetary system, it is in refence to a compliment I was given. I participated in a ten day backpacking trip in the New Mexico Wilderness to get a WEA Outdoor Leadership Certification to lead outdoor trips. At the end of the trip the two excellent instructors took each of us aside privately to give us feedback on our leadership skills. They explained why small groups got rearranged and I got put into the group with some struggling students as well as why my feedback was being asked during our group meetings to settle conflict. They said that they considered me "The Gold Standard" a private title among instructors to describe a student who they would trust the life of their own child with for an outdoor trip.



This has been a source of encouragement for me but I used this name to represent what I am hoping to be for you. Someone you could trust to try to capture those precious moments with the things that are the most cherished deep in your heart.