The Little Farmers {The Stamm Boys}

These two little guys are so adorable.  I loved getting to adventure around their farm, playing on the tractor, and hanging out around the ponds.  These little boys are so wonderful, and I can't help but smile while editing their photos :)  Thanks for opening up your home, and sharing your boys with me, Jess and Chris!  I hope you enjoy them all as much as I do! 

 Billy + Kelsi {engaged!}

 I absolutely LOVE photographing people in love, and these two definitely are!  Their love for each other made this photo shoot so great!  The shoot was filled with lots of smiles and laughter, that I think my face hurt from all the smiles too and I wasn't even getting my picture taken :)  Congrats Billy + Kelsi, I'm really looking forward to your October wedding!

 

Spring in Wisconsin

 Wisconsin is such a beautiful state filled with such breath-taking scenery.  Spring is one of my favorite seasons because I love the fresh new look and life that it brings.  A few days ago I woke up the this beautiful reminder of God's wonderful artistry.  Enjoy! 

Margie + Kyle

Margie & Kyle... What can I say?!?  You guys were so much fun, and so adorable.  I don't think I've ever laughed so much!  Thanks again for a wonderful morning, and doing a fun "off road" photo shoot! 

A Little Fun {Down on the Farm}

Today's blog is a fun one.  Earlier today, I had the urge to just go and shoot for fun!  It's pretty cold here in rural Wisconsin during the winter (go figure), but I thought I'd venture outside and see what I could come up with.  My husband and I recently moved into our new home on little farm.  We don't farm it, but we did inherit a few chickens.  I never thought I'd have chickens, but it's actually pretty fun.  Here's a few photos from my adventure around the farm today.  Enjoy :) 

A Single Flame

A Single Flame: November & December 2011

A Single Flame

                I have always been fascinated with light in darkness.  I’ve been wanting to do a project centered around that project for a long time now, but could never figure out a specific topic that I wanted to develop with it.  The beauty of the light shining, breaking through the darkness needed to be represented in a powerful way, and I never quite accomplished that before. 

For this project I decided to experiment, and really push myself to create something using only candlelight in the darkness.  As I began to experiment, I couldn’t help but notice how when adding flames, that more and more details of the person holding it were revealed.  It was as if the light was contagious, and others were instigating the growth and beauty of the light.  I wanted to explore that more, so I added more and more people, and began experimenting with my 50mm lens.

                I wanted this piece to more than just the beauty of the light, but to showcase a greater meaning as well.  I had been inspired by the song, “Go Light Your World,” by Chris Rice which talks about every soul being a candle that can affect and change another.  As a result, if everyone when to make a difference in one person’s life, then together they can change the world.  To me, this is a wonderful way to look at our lives, because we do, whether intentional or not, affect all those around us.  It is up to us, however, how we affect them.  We could make their lives brighter, better, or we could stomp out the beauty, and it does make a difference in the world.

Artist Statement

My art is my key to my home, my water reflection, my looking glass.

For me, art is a way to see the word through different eyes.  These eyes may agree with what I see, while others are startling and show what I don’t see.  It’s a way to see not only the world around me, but myself as an individual.  In a way, my art is an extension of myself.  My artwork is directly influenced by life situations, people, events, emotions, and simply everyday life in general.  In my work, I work through and express all the emotions I feel about a particular subject.  My desire is to make it relatable to any viewer no matter what their background, culture, language, or age.  My goal is to stir with in them emotions and feelings that create them to examine their own life, and possibly even act on what they learn about their self.

I not only focus on the subject of the work of art, but I also focus on the color, composition, lighting, and cohesiveness of the work.  When creating a work of art my attention to color directly affects the tone and feeling of the piece.  I carefully choose the details of how and what to include in my artwork, because what is in the frame must be deliberate and have a reason for being present.  Color affects the tone, but composition and lighting also can affect the tone as well as the aesthetic quality.  Composition and lighting can give the art work a direct sense.  It could give the feeling of balance, direction, or conflict depending on how it’s applied.  Along with attention to the details of each individual piece, I also focus on how the pieces work together as a whole.  In my work, there is a definite reason as to why these pieces work together.   I strive for consistency throughout the work as a whole, but each individual piece must bring something new and significant to the work as a whole.    

While I use a variety of materials and processes in my projects, I primarily use digital photography.  I love being able to both document life, and also manipulate the obvious to broadcast a hidden or subdued message.  Often, I use multiple layers in Adobe Photoshop to express the subject and/or story desired.  Although I do primarily use digital photography the subject matter of each body of work can determine the materials and the forms of the work takes.