Grateful

Right now, during my last official week as a photographer at the Marshfield News-Herald, I am feeling so very, very grateful.

I am feeling grateful for the decision matrix that my brother gave me (I know I am a dork, but it seriously works if you have a tough decision) that I filled out in my sister’s kitchen that helped me choose Marshfield  as the place I would start my first “real-world” job. I am grateful for working at the Marshfield News-Herald for the past 5 1/2 years. It was such a good place to grow as a photographer, journalist and storyteller. I am grateful for all the experiences, the people I have met and the amazing stories that I have been able to share with our community. I am also grateful for the mundane stories, like the ones about the pot holes in the street. If not for the pot hole problem in Marshfield every spring, I never would have been assigned to take picture of someone filling pot holes and I never would have photographed my future husband filling said potholes 🙂 I am grateful that I had such a random photojournalist schedule and I got to spend days off with Dan enjoying our first summer together. I am grateful for my tiny first-single-girl-apartment that also turned into our tiny first-married-year apartment. Even when the smoke alarms go off and I can’t figure out how to turn them off (like this morning).

I am also grateful to my college friend Melanie and childhood friend Anne who asked me to photograph their weddings and I said, “Sure! No problem!” I didn’t really know what I was doing, but I had fun and they liked the pictures, so it was a win/win! I am also grateful for all the wedding couples since… and all the lovely couples this summer, fall and in 2014 who have invited me to share their wedding days with them. I love how special each wedding is and how unique each couple’s love is. I am so honored to be able to photograph and tell your love stories. Thank you for trusting me to capture the first day of your love story as husband and wife.  I am also grateful to the parents who have asked me to document their newborn babies, children and families. I love being able to capture life in photographs that you will treasure. I’m also grateful for timing that worked so I was able to attend an amazing conference, Making Things Happen, in March that got me in the right space for this transition. And I am also so, so grateful to my family, friends and especially to Dan for encouraging me to take the leap and run my business full-time. So… to pretty much everyone, THANK YOU! Thank you so much for helping me create this amazing business… and life that I am able to throw my heart and mind into full-time after Friday! I feel so blessed to be able to do what I love every day!  Yay!!!! I can’t wait to start this new adventure!!!!

And no post is complete without photos! Here are a few from my first two weddings as the “official” photographer.

PORTRAIT & WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER

Based in Marshfield, Wisconsin

Available for Travel