Winter | The Seasons | El Paso, Fort Bliss Stylized Portrait Photographer

Winter has been a tad unpredictable for the 2013-2014 season.  El Paso has seen no more than a light dusting in areas, while the East coast and Midwest are being hit with a one-two punch of snow and ice storms.  I'm sure that the people who have to deal with iced over roads or shovel their driveways are sick of dealing with it.

Personally, I love it.

Winter can be harsh and unyielding, but it can also be soft and serene.  An overcast sky and a fresh white blanket of snow is more appealing to me than a beach on a tropical island.  I know, I know.  It seems crazy.  But there is something soulful about the solitude of winter.  It brings a special kind of peace.  At least until my son is itching to get outside to run around in the pretty white stuff.

My ultimate goal with  this shoot was to portray the wonders of winter in all of its aspects: The magical, the peaceful, the commanding.    Using the light to portray various moods, and post-processing to bring a little extra magic to our White Sands shoot, we created a set of winter wonderland portraits that I am so, so proud of.

**  WARNING:  The slideshow has music!  Turn the volume down if you are at work!  ;)  **

Published!! | Featured | El Paso, Fort Bliss Portrait Photographer

Submitting to publications is a nerve-wracking endeavor.  Whether it is for a blog feature or a chance to be printed in a magazine, there is always a degree of vulnerability when it comes to presenting your work to others in an effort to be deemed worthy.  I am not inherently competitive, and generally modest about my work, so submitting to publications has never really been a priority for me.

But something about picking up the camera and producing artwork for myself, simply for the creation of something beautiful and magical, made something change about the way I looked at my work.  Here I was, hoarding dozens of images from a session that I had poured my heart and soul into on an external hard drive.  It didn't make sense.  Why was I creating art only to cram it into a black box and show mere glimpses of it to the world?  So I did something I had never had the courage to do: Push back my sense of modesty and relay, instead, my confidence in my worth.  I submitted a series of images to Essere, a small creative photography publication based in Virginia.  I never expected to hear back.

About an hour later, I received an e-mail stating that they wanted to include my series in their May issue.

I had to read it several times to make very extra sure that I had seen it correctly.  And then I got excited.  Very, very, very excited.  But I am a somewhat superstitious person, and did not want to jinx it.  Instead of announcing it right away, I resolved to keep it fairly quiet (with the exception of disclosure to a few good friends and family).

Until I received a beautiful copy in the mail today, that is.  I just cannot keep silent anymore.  I am simply thrilled at the prospect of having three full spreads in a printed magazine!  I do not desire fame or fortune in the grand scheme of things.  Still, it is pretty darn cool to see my work amongst some seriously amazing talent.  I am honored to have been included. 

You can purchase a copy of the May 2013 or other issues of Essere magazine here.