Let's get to know each other, I'll go first!

 

I am a mom of 3 girls. I was born and raised in small town Bellevue, home  to 2500 people, and couldn't wait to move away to a huge city to live and explore. But I currently live in the middle of nowhere between a town with a population of 117 and a town with a population of 92, and I absolutely LOVE it. There is something so peaceful about being in the middle of nowhere, it was the thing I didn't know I needed in my life.  I live here, in rural Iowa, with my kids and my husband, Tom. He's the greatest, I always say everyone deserves a Tom in their life. In our relationship I am the tight rope walker and he's the soft place to land. We balance each other out quite well.

 

Other than my favorite job of being a mom and photographer, I am also in sales for a sportswear company and I absolutely love my day job. I survive on baseball and summertime + love to help others. My interests include; plants, gardening, cooking, essential oils, graphic design, and obviously photography.

 

There is nothing a bottle of lavender essential oil or ranch dressing can't fix.

​

How I got into Photography-- Photography is something I've been passionate about for years, and something that will never fade. I love capturing moments, real and raw. I want my photos to have feeling. I have gone back and forth for a few years on whether or not I wanted to turn my hobby into something more. Then a November day in 2019, I had the final push I knew I needed. If you knew my grandpa, you know he is a man of few words and when he does speak, it's the truth. I remember countless days growing up, sitting at his kitchen table, and his advice on "how to make my softball swing better", "you have to judge that ball better when it's hit to you" and thinking in my head "yeah, yeah, yeah, I know". But this time was different. He told me on that November day, "I don't know what you plan to do with photography, or how you do it, but don't stop. You can feel the genuine happiness in those pictures". This was coming from someone who was always there to give me constructive criticism, who had a passion for photography himself. He took film photos and developed them himself while he was in the Army. He was gifted a DSLR camera for Christmas many years ago, and gave it to me because he saw my interest and passion. So, thank you grandpa and I won't stop. I lost my grandpa in October of 2022, but I am so glad he got to see me pursue something we both love.