Stoner Family {one image}

Can’t wait to share more from this fun family shoot. Here’s one for now!

Engagement session in the Woods {2 images}

This amazing spot makes me think of this song:

Deep Gratitude brings great Joy.

Today, as I was driving with the warm(er) air breezing through my windows, the music playing, and the beautiful sun shining just over the mountains,  I was overcome with a deep sense of gratitude.

I feel like I’m in a season of my own right now.  Although it’s winter, and sometimes a little more dreary than I’d like, we have these days of amazing sun and spring-like temperatures.  Although I’ve had some personal challenges in this past year {I won’t go into detail here}, I’ve learned that sometimes challenges bring out the most beauty.  Sometimes that doesn’t sound good in the moment of suffering or struggle, but for me, in this moment- I accept that there is beauty in brokenness.  That beauty is at work, creating something even better and I am so thankful.  This season I’m in is one of hope and gratitude.  In the midst of whatever struggle I may be facing – or will in the future – it seems that this swelling gratitude is producing a deep joy that is changing me.

One of the most influential writers to me this past year has been Ann Voskamp.  You can read her blog here, and her book “One Thousand Gifts” is one I’ve given away a few times and need to get myself another one. She has reminded me through her words that gratitude is something that changes us deeply.

“Joy is always a function of gratitude — and gratitude is always a function of perspective.

If we are going to change our lives, what we’re going to have to change is the way we see.”

“Thanksgiving  {Or the giving-of-thanks}  is the lens God means for us to see joy all year round.”

The lens, in a real sense for me, has been a tool for seeing.  When I have my camera, I am open to beauty, open to seeing things in a different light.  And this has given me a greater appreciation for the world around me.  I wish I could describe this better in words…but I find it hard.  My hope is that my images will continue to show this to whomever may see them.  That through my lens, I am bringing myself to a place of deeper gratitude always leading to greater joy, and through that, maybe I can help someone else see beauty and joy in a new way, too.

Be Yourself.

I read something so simple, yet so profound (for me, anyway) today.  Henri Nouwen is one of my favorite writers and I won’t summarize because I won’t do a better job than he did.

“Often we want to be somewhere other than where we are, or even to be someone other than who we are.  We tend to compare ourselves constantly with others and wonder why we are not as rich, as intelligent, as simple, as generous, or as saintly as they are. Such comparisons make us feel guilty, ashamed, or jealous.  It is very important to realize that our vocation is hidden in where we are and who we are. We are unique human beings, each with a call to realize in life what nobody else can, and to realize it in the concrete context of the here and now.  We will never find our vocations by trying to figure out whether we are better or worse than others.  We are good enough to do what we are called to do.  Be yourself!” 

-by Henri Nouwen, ‘Bread for the Journey’

So what does this have to do with photography!?

Well, the more I read and learn about having my own business, the more I’m realizing the importance of staying true to who I AM.  The business will not be anything special if I do not make it unique to who I am as a person.  Photography as a business, (or for many-me included, as a lifestyle) is more than just making money.  It is more than providing a product.  It is about providing an experience.

To me, it’s about cultivating relationships, and capturing moments that reflect the true heart of a moment, or a person.  I love it so much when I meet someone for the first time in person (like Heather, pictured above), and after just a little time, I have the honor to glimpse into who they are- the honest, real, beautiful person they are, and capture it with my camera.  If I’m not able to be my true self when working with people, then how will they?  And to me, what makes an image so beautiful, is when the person on the other side of my lens is able to be comfortable and real- as authentic as possible- which is where the true beauty lies.

This is what I love about photography- and why I am so exciting to be walking into this adventure of pursing it as a business and a lifestyle.

Thank you Heather, and thank you to the many other beautiful people I’ve had the privilege to photograph so far.

 It truly brings joy to my heart.

Meet baby ‘Rory’ {one image}

Oh, this baby is so so sweet- her expressions today were amazing! Her parents are pretty great, too.

 More to come soon.

Photographing for myself {creating for the sake of creating}

I am someone who longs to create.  I appreciate so much the opportunities we have in this world to make art, in whatever way we know how, and allow it to cultivate JOY for ourselves or someone else.  I read somewhere recently, that as we create, we are, in a sense, becoming more of who we were made to be.  I believe that as we allow ourselves to express creatively (whether it be writing, singing, dancing, painting, photographing, tying flies….whatever it may be!) we are uniting ourselves more closely to the Creator, the One who ultimately knows how to make beautiful things.  The difficult thing sometimes, for me at least, is to let go of the need of approval from others.  What we make, should be a reflection of who we are (or dream of being).  It should also be free of any fear of disapproval from anyone else.  What matters is that it challenges me, brings me joy, and ultimately points to One who makes beautiful things always, and has given me the heart to try it, too.

For those of you who are photographers, you can probably relate when I say that one gift of photography is that it inspires me to look at life in a different way. I’m often seeing more deeply, noticing more fully,

and slowing down to document the beauty around me.  Clyde Kilby, a Literature professor of C.K. Chersterton’s  once said,

“At least once every day I shall look steadily up at the sky and remember that I, a consciousness with a conscience,

am on a planet traveling in space with wonderfully mysterious things above me and about me.”

Sometimes the camera helps me to be consciously awake to the gifts all around me.  For that, I’m grateful.

A Baby on the Way

just a few from a recent shoot with the beautiful Rita, her beau, and their baby on the way!

Values : Authenticity

A friend and fellow photography, Shun-Luoi, has been providing me with some guidance and and wisdom as I’ve been considering making Love Roots my full-time adventure.  In the beginning of this process, he encouraged me to consider my most important values for my photography business.  He gave me a list of about 100 words including words like “challenge”, “direction”, “meaningful work”, “stability”, “generosity”, etc.  I had to narrow this list to 10 values that I will let guide me in my work and relationships through this process of creating and sustaining Love Roots Photography.  It is a challenge! So many of these values are important to me – and I finally chose 10, and will highlight a few of these here in the next few months.

Authenticity.

Here are a few definitions:

Authenticity refers to the truthfulness of origins, attributions, commitments, sincerity, devotion, and intentions.

• Authenticity (philosophy), a particular way of dealing with the external world, being faithful to internal rather than external ideas
• Authenticity in art, either nominal or expressive

The reason I love this word and see it at such an important value in my life and work, is that it frees me up.  It frees me to be ME, and no-one else. In our culture, it seems like many of us are always comparing, always striving to be like someone who we may see as better, more successful, (fill-in-the-blank), than us.  Especially since I’ve begun pursuing photography, I’ve come up against that personally.  It’s easy to see all the beautiful work that others have created.  There are so many gifted artists out there, and with the ease of visability through the internet, the comparisons can be endless!  I’m reading a beautiful book by Brene Brown called “The Gifts of Imperfection”.  In it, she speaks of authenticity.

“Choosing authenticity is not an easy choice. E.E. Cummings wrote, “to be nobody-but-yourself in a world which is doing its        best, night and day, to make you everybody but yourself- means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight- and never stop fighting.”  Staying real is one of the most courageous battles that we’ll ever fight….The thing is, authenticity isn’t always the safe option.  Sometimes choosing being real over being liked is all about playing it unsafe. It means stepping out of our comfort zone.”  Brown, B. “The Gifts of Imperfection).

I love this.  Authenticity is a challenge.  It takes courage and willingness to put yourself out there as someone who is uniquely YOU.  This is a value that I want as a mark on my work, and on my life.  Not only do I want to be loyal to the practice of authenticity, but I want it to be visible in the work I do as an artist-photographer.  Creating authentic images is very important to me and I hope that those who see it can recognize that- but if they don’t….that’s ok   What matters is that I know I’m always being true to myself and true to who I was made to be- that’s the essence of authenticity!

Here’s to a year of living and creating with the value of authenticity always shining through.

(the photos above are from a life-changing trip I took to Ethiopia…more on that, soon! But for now, as you can see, the children had such beauty, such joy, and such authenticity!)

A Romantic Autumn Engagement

Abby + Jesse: feel the love (and sunshine).

Felted Stones

Gretchen and I met a few years back at a local coffee shop (where I worked and she visited).  She is a lovely person and I really had so much fun shooting some of her work for an upcoming art show. She is a lover of nature and the outdoors, an avid hiker and gifted gardener (even with the winter frost, I could tell how beautiful and artful her yard must look in full bloom!) Some of her work is inspired by these things. She also has a store on etsy that I’d recommend you check out!

{See Gretchen’s Creations on Etsy here}

And if you’re in the Pikes Peak area, come check out her art show at The Bridge Gallery.

{and below, just a few favorites from our time}