photography - Community - Education - inspiration - creativity - Gathering - mentoring
(just a few of my favorite things)
Welcome! I’m Ash, a small business owner and professional photographer who specializes in telling stories full of connection and creativity through my unique use of environmental portraiture. I’ve always had a deep love of photography, ever since I got my hands on my very first Kodak camera. It was in the dark room during a photography class in college that I had my first and deepest experience of the flow state.
I’ve carried my camera with me everywhere over the years - on all of my adventures, through my time in the Peace Corps, and right into adulthood. But I didn’t know that I could make a living as an artist, so I chose another path. Photography couldn’t be a real, legit-make a-living career, right? It sounded too good to be true.
Instead, I became a passionate educator. I taught for many years working with students both at home and abroad, and I deeply loved guiding students on their learning journeys. Education and photography have always been an integral part of my path. For my masters thesis, I even designed and taught a course called "photography for social change.' Despite the signs pointing me toward photography, it would be another decade before I made the career shift.
After becoming a mother, I was obsessed with documenting the ever evolving chapters of my family life. Soon friends started to ask me to take their family photographs, too. Out of a necessity to make a living that would work for our family, I began to build this new business.
The camera is my tool of choice. I believe Black Lives Matter, love is love, no human being is illegal, and that we need to destroy the patriarchy and save the planet.
My hair has grayed
dramatically with 45 in office but amidst all the crazy in the world, I am grateful to be in the
business of documenting love and connection. I witness so many moments of
tender and loving care through this job and it gives me hope for a better tomorrow.
Photography has long been a hobby for me, and I’ve always treasured old family photographs and the rich stories they carry with them, but it wasn’t until I became a mother that I became obsessed with the need to preserve and remember each phase and detail of my family life. Motherhood feels like this amazing, never-ending process of watching my daughter grow, evolve and come into her own, but I also mourn how quickly time disappears and wish I could savor those moments with my baby just a little longer. But herein lies my passion for photography. I can literally freeze moments in time!
I thought that I would be able to find a few clients, practice my passion for taking photos, and deepen my connection with Mother Earth through environmental portraiture. What I didn’t expect was to land myself smack dab in the middle of my professional and creative dream. By the time my daughter reached kindergarten, I had grown beyond my wildest imagination and was already running a six-figure business. I was making a solid living as a creative, could contribute financially in a meaningful way, had more time to spend with my family, and was finally able to live life on my terms.
Becoming a photographer expanded my sense of self, and I saw myself as an artist for the first time when I hadn’t before. I loved the freedom I felt in running my own business as well. Then other photographers and clients asked me to mentor them, and I found it deeply satisfying to enter the education space again in this field I have a deep passion for.
Photos tell a story of a moment in time - they are cherished heirlooms, and they hold deep meaning and value. Pictures help us connect to each other, to the space and location we are in, and to ourselves. They provide belonging, beauty and meaning in our lives.
I love art and business, and I know we can thrive as creatives!
My A Sense of Place course offering is the culmination of what I am most passionate about - environmental photography, a sense of place and belonging, and our responsibility to this planet we call home. I also love working 1:1 with other photographers, and hosting workshops to help creatives connect to their why through their art and by building noteworthy and sustainable creative businesses.
I look forward to being in creative community with you!
Camera alongside, my life is mostly spent with my two favorite humans: my partner and daughter. Mountains are our sacred place and thus my daughter’s namesake. I am happiest in wild and beautiful places. I love to hike, camp, travel, and explore new places with my family and of course my camera too. Capturing people, the wonders of this marvelous planet, and how we all fit into this awe-inspiring world makes my heart sing.
Clients often say that their experience working with me is a fun, easy and memorable family adventure, often in one of the San Francisco Bay Area’s epic locations. I am a keen observer of life and can find the subtle beauty and emotive connections – all while your family hangs outs and enjoys time together. I love sharing this passion by documenting sacred family memories and working with wanderlusting, soulful, earth-loving, adventurous, intimate, fun and connected families. Each stage of family life is so fleeting. I know I never feel like I have enough time, and the years seem to pass far too quickly, but there is a comfort in knowing my photography will continue to serve as a time machine transporting me back to what I long to preserve and remember. I look forward to creating treasured heirlooms and forever memories with you and your family!
Mentoring
Course - A sense of PLace
