About 5 years ago I was taken aback when a female professional wildlife photographer somewhat condescendingly told me she didn’t think it was possible to be a professional nature/wildlife photographer and be a mother of young kids. I’d never met a woman who discouraged other women from following their dreams and trying to make it work, no matter what the obstacles. While I can understand and admit that it’s sometimes challenging to get out in the field to photograph, I do not consider having kids a liability to anything I’ve wanted to do. When I met this lady I was near the beginning of my path seriously following my heart to become a good photographer, and I’m glad I didn’t follow her train of thought and give up on the idea of being a photographer. So in honor of the first day of the school year and having the house to myself, I thought I’d share a few ideas on how I’ve been able to mesh the two pursuits and make it work.

1) Be dedicated to my craft and be flexible

Two traits that have served me well are flexibility and dedication. My kids are young, 6 and 11 years old. Their needs change on a dime. My plans need to change too. They may need to go to a playground when I want to go on a nature walk (with my camera), and the playground usually wins. But, my camera comes along too. There’s plenty to photograph all around-insects and birds, plants and flowers, textures, clouds, or playing with intentional blur. I just have to be open to see what’s right in front of me. And if I come home with a few candid shots of the kids, that’s a bonus. My kids are generally reasonable people, and many times I can take them to the park to play and then get them to agree to a (short) stop for me to “play” with my camera. I’m dedicated to giving my kids the best childhood I can, I’m also dedicated to being happy and a better photographer and I’ve found ways to do both at the same time.

2) Involve the kids and family as much as possible

Many times I plan a hike or local trip to spots that they particularly like. I use their interest to my advantage. Many times they will help me scout out things to photograph. I teach them about our local wildlife and plants, and also about seeing the light in the landscape and how to use a camera. They go searching for mushrooms or pika or flowers or watch the light changing on a scene while I set up and focus on one thing. By the time I have my shot(s) they have several more potential shots lined up for me. They are also able to watch the light changing, so while I’m immersed in something they are able to interrupt me so I don’t miss great lighting opportunities. I also take extra cameras along, so when the spirit moves them, they can create their own images. I’ll be honest, they eventually lose interest in what I’m doing. But, instead of turning on the TV when they get bored, they are out in nature and find ways to entertain themselves- skipping rocks on a river or pond, searching for treasures or just sitting and experiencing the world around them.

3) Analyze the situation quickly and follow my instincts when photographing

Two other important skills I’ve developed are to think quickly and follow my gut. When I’m out with my camera and the kids I photograph what I’m naturally attracts me. I’ll take a bunch of shots: from eye level, from above looking down, from below looking up, from the side, with a shallow depth of field, with a deep depth of field, with a wide angle lens or zoomed in for a tight composition. I work quickly and try to maximize the variety of shots. Some images turn out wonderful, many get thrown away, but that’s OK because I let myself explore and learn. Over time I think I’ve gotten pretty good at quickly assessing an opportunity and making the stronger images first, so that when I have to cut the shoot short because the kids need to move on I’m not disappointed.

4) Get out by myself

As much as my family is part of my photography, I also make it a point to get away and shoot by myself too. I cherish these times. I get to slow down, turn off the mommy radar (but not the bear danger radar) and think more about what I want to do while making an image. I may go out with a goal or two, but they are usually broad; something like “long exposure water photographs” or “autumn color in the mountains”. These are the times my tripod gets the most use and when my soul gets the most refreshed. I can immerse myself fully in the experience of photographing nature and get to that place where the world stands still around me as I carefully compose an image and fine tune the camera settings to capture my vision.

5) Kids are an asset not a liability

I may not get to take weeks at a time for a safari or get up every morning at a particular spot in the middle of nowhere to capture the perfect sunrise, but I do get to take a lot of wonderful photographs. I also get to teach my kids about the world from a different perspective than many people do. They are part of the stories behind the images and they inspire me to get out and explore. I want them to appreciate the world they live in and I want to spend time with them. Including them in my photography is a great way to do all of these things at once.

I’m very happy I did not give up on my desire to become a better photographer when I had kids. To the contrary, it has made being a full time mom easier for me because it gives me an outlet for my creativity and something to work towards besides clean dishes and folded laundry. Including my kids in what I’m passionate about is a great way to teach them about following their own dreams and it helps me build a stronger relationship with them and make memories I hope they will cherish as they get older.

(Note:  I would never have gotten any of the images in this post if I had forced Sarah to take the trail I wanted.  She insisted we go to the mine and I’m so happy I didn’t fight her on that, but was flexible and adapted my plans to her interests.)

I’ve spent a lot of time this winter at home taking care of family and school obligations and wanted to get out with my camera last weekend. We decided to take the family for a drive and head to Whittier. Along the way the Seward Highway passes the remains of the town of Portage. Portage was destroyed by the Good Friday Earthquake in 1964. That earthquake was the third largest in US history with a magnitude of 9.2. It’s effects were felt as far away as Hawaii and Florida (where an artesian aquifer doubled its daily water production about an hour after the quake hit).

Portage was a small town about 50 miles south of Anchorage, about 40 miles from the epicenter of the earthquake. It had a population of about 100 people in the early 1960’s. When the earthquake hit, the land under the town dropped between 6 and 12 feet which placed the town at sea level on the banks of the Turnagain Arm of Cook Inlet. High tides and mud inundated the town and it had to be abandoned.

During the past 50 years the buildings that survived in some fashion have been left to return to nature. Many have already collapsed and disappeared from view. But, there are a few that are still standing, at least a little bit. I’ve always wanted to stop and photograph these buildings, but I’ve never had time or a good view. Many bushes have grown up and surround the remaining buildings and when they are covered with leaves they obscure the view. Additionally, water and mud fill the area, so it’s not practical to walk around and explore.

On Sunday though, I had time to stop. Better yet, the leaves haven’t come out on the bushes yet, so I had a view of the town. I had a great time (on the edge of the highway) capturing some shots of the buildings and the top of an old rusted truck that was parked next to a neat house with some green shingles still on the roof.

While a bunch of the United States has had a very challenging winter with lots of snowfall and cold temperatures, our winter in Alaska has been very mild.  Our total snow fall can be counted on your fingers.  We’ve had some wind storms and cold temperatures that dipped below 0 F, but overall it’s been quite easy.  So easy that the Iditarod has been moved north to Fairbanks because there’s no snow, and the sprint dog races have been cancelled.  I was looking forward to photographing that again this year, planning out my shooting spots, but that will have to wait a year I guess.

Here are 2 shots.  The first is last winter taken 2/22/14 in Anchorage at the sprint dog races, the other taken 2/23/15 in my front yard.

The weather forecast for today is breezy according to the radio announcer.

We have a weather station at our house so we can watch the temperature and wind speeds. So far today, the winds have been steady in the 20-40 mph range and we recorded a gust at 75 mph. We found it comical when we lived other places that would issue a high wind warning when the winds were forcast to be 15 mph.

I’m not sure “breezy” is the best word to describe what we’re experiencing.

For the past several years I have been collecting photographs.  I’ve spent a lot of time reading and learning and photographing, but I wasn’t ready to process all of them.  I had a vision for how I wanted the finished image to look, but I didn’t have the skills to make them match my vision.  So, they have been sitting on my computer patiently waiting.  Their wait is coming to an end.

I’ve spent a huge chunk of 2014 learning to process my images to match my vision.  Back in April I was selected by Karen Hutton to be part of her cohort in The Arcanum .  I was quite lucky.  Not only was I one of the first people selected to be part of the beta test for The Arcanum, but I was chosen to work with a wonderful woman and photographer who was able to guide me (along with the other 15 apprentices in our cohort) exactly where I wanted to go, yet she never told us what to do.  She encouraged us to explore and try and reflect and do.  And we did.  I took tens of thousands of new images and processed many of those.  I received feedback from everyone in the group and had one-on-one “critique” sessions (more discussion than critiques, really) with Karen.  And my photos evolved.

When I started, my images were very literal and captured moments in time.  But, they often lacked impact.  They lacked a powerful story backing them up.  Karen encouraged all of us to experiment with processing.  We were left to our own devices to figure out what that meant for us personally.  For me, I hunkered down and dove into more liberal developing in Lightroom and onOne‘s Perfect Photo Suite (especially Perfect Effects) and then some Topaz software (Clarity, Detail and Adjust).  I learned to have fun!  I learned how to add impact to photos so that I could convey my feelings, not just a moment in time.  Not every experiment was successful, that’s part of playing and learning.  Some were way overdone.  Some I didn’t push quite far enough.  But some of them were “just right” and made me happy.  I learned from all of them, and the ones that were “just right” started to grow into a style.  I’m sure my style will continue to evolve over time with more playing and reflecting and learning, and that’s a good thing!  For now though, I have the beginnings of a personal style that makes me happy and I feel ready to tackle many of the photographs that have been patiently waiting for me in my Lightroom catalog.

Here is one of the lucky photos that has been waiting for me.  I took this one a couple years ago.  It was late afternoon, getting dark when I drove past this open field with a few trees on the edge just dripping with goats beard lichen.  It was cold and ice fog had engulfed the trees and lichen and frozen to them.  I loved the textures and subtle colors in the trees, but at the time my processing skills couldn’t bring those things out the way I wanted them to.  The other night I pulled this image out and knew just how to get the look I wanted.  Thanks Karen!

Here’s hoping you can sing through the sun showers and rain showers this year!

Here’s hoping you can sing through the sun showers and rain showers this year!