I'm a wife of eleven years and mother to two sons. A few summers ago, we traded the prairies of the Midwest for the slow-growing sea oats that grow on the southern coastal dunes of the Carolinas. We traded the rush of pheasants across the Dakotas for seagulls flying over picket fences, lakes for the Atlantic Ocean and fresh snow for the salubrious breeze that wafts from the outer banks to the maritime forests. We fell in love with the coastal Carolinas and I believe more than ever before as I've watched my own time and place in the world shift, that the seasons in our lives are worth remembering with pictures that tell the stories.
For the last decade, I've had the privilege of photographing hundreds of others' stories in every season of life with all personality types and backgrounds and across the nation. Capturing the beauty I see remains a constant and increasingly fulfilling pursuit...
It thrills me to give you pictures you'll hold on to forever, frame and hang on your walls - let's create something beautiful together!
Images by Rebekah Emily, Ashlynn Miller and Melissa Blythe
I've written a list of 100 dreams... to own a boutique, learn how to sketch, sand surf in the desert, camp on the beach, tour Europe, publish music, study interior design, make pottery, go to culinary school, launch a podcast, take a safari trip with my boys...
I'm just getting started.
While I am exploring so many avenues in life that add depth and texture to my days, capturing the best of you and the one with whom you've chosen to journey through life remains a constant and increasingly fulfilling pursuit.
Born in Canada just north of New York, he spent the first part of his childhood with friends from Switzerland, the Netherlands and the UK. When his family moved Stateside just a mile away from Beltrami Island State Forest, exploring the heavily wooded northern region of Minnesota became a regular way of life.
He enlisted as an American Soldier when our relationship was just budding and spent the next nine years serving in the National Guard, obtaining Airborne and Air Assault training and deploying for the better part of a year in Kuwait before moving to the Air Force working in munitions as Staff Sergeant.
He's a certified diver, history buff, political junkie and my all-star second shooter.
He's seven going on seventeen... an avid reader, lover of all things nature and as confident and full of life as he is prepared with death-defying karate chops. If you're looking for a topic of conversation, ask him about his latest lego creation. Guarantee it will be different every time.
Cedric means "Battle Chieftain" and Paul (his middle name) means "Humble". Sometimes when he's running at full speed past sunset, Ben and I look at each other and with one slight raise of the eyebrow, non-verbally question our choice in selecting a warrior name.
Spartan Alexander. A powerful name for such a sweet, fair-skinned baby, I know.
Spartan meaning "disciplined" and Alexander, "defender of mankind," encapsulates our belief that now, more than ever before, we need to be raising a generation of men and women with large, tender hearts and strong backbones. A rising tide of humans with vision, purpose and resolve; willing to sacrifice and stand firm in the brunt of resistance for causes worth advancing. Driven not for any love of the fight itself, but for the love of peace and the motivation of safe haven in the places we call home... embracing dearly those who need our tender attention and careful defense.