The Great Outdoors

I have a confession to make: I’m not really an outdoorsy person. Odd, I know, considering I’m a landscape photographer. But, up until I started taking nature photos in 2019, I was much more comfortable in the cozy, temperature-controlled indoors. I’d take occasional walks with my family and friends, and enjoy a few beach days here and there. However, if given the choice between spending time inside or outdoors, I could always find a reason to stay inside.

In the summer, it’s too hot out there, I’d say. Alternatively, in the winter, my excuse was “I don’t own a coat.” The fall months always seemed too busy, while spring was written off as too pollen-y.

Over the last few years, I’ve realized how much I was missing out on by staying inside. The beauty of sunrises and sunsets are the most obvious things I wasn’t experiencing regularly. I was also missing out on endlessly interesting cloud formations. On butterflies dancing among wildflowers. On how a great blue heron presides over different spots at a local lake. On the way their unique bark patterns make each tree seem like it has its own personality.

Learning to love and enjoy time outside and in nature has been one of the greatest rewards of becoming a landscape photographer. I’ve replaced my excuses with photos of thousands of these wonderful moments — so many that a quick scroll through my phone would make you wonder if I actually live in a forest.

What has been the most unexpected reward for you as an artist?

Adventures of a Soccer Mom

In addition to being Flash Mama, I am a soccer mom. Watching my daughter play goalie is one of my favorite things to do.

As much as I relish seeing her on the field, long practices, half-time breaks in the action, and odd windows of time between games also mean there are long stretches with nothing to do.

A slihouette of a plane tilted upward during takeoff against a blue sky. The plane appears to be flying above the bright yellow sun. — Photo by Flash Mama Photography

Shortly after rediscovering my passion for photography, I began filling this downtime with taking pictures. Whether it be oddly shaped trees in the parking lot, flowers along the field, or the field lights at nighttime games, I enjoy challenging myself to find something interesting to photograph.

This image was taken during halftime on a shadeless turf field located in an industrial park. With no trees, flowers, or vegetation of any kind, I was struggling to find anything interesting to photograph. I looked up to see if there were any clouds in the sky (there weren’t). But, then I saw an airplane flying pretty low overhead.

It turned out that we were near the airport. Soon, several planes started to fly by. I managed to capture this image of one of the planes appearing to soar above the sun.

With a pretty inexpensive zoom lens, harsh sunlight and no tripod, the image isn’t perfect. Still, it reminds me that sometimes you can create something lovely out of less than ideal circumstances!

Sunday Scene: Falling for photography

Green trees that beginning to take on fall colors line a lake. Geese are flying overhead amidst sunset colored clouds that are reflecting in the lake. — Photo by Flash Mama Photography

This autumn sunset scene is one of my all-time favorite landscape shots. I captured this image at a local lake that I visit at least once a week to capture a sunrise or sunset.

There are many shots I’ve taken at this location over the years that are better technically than this one. Even so, there are so many reasons why I will always love it.

For starters, I took it during my first autumn as a landscape photographer. I’ve grown a lot as a photographer since then, and this is one of the few from those early days that doesn’t make me cringe.

I also love it because it was a throw-away shot. Like Hail Mary shots in basketball, throw-aways are what I call the last image you take out of desperation when nothing else seems to be working. In this case, I had packed up my “real” camera and was starting to walk away. I happened to glance over my shoulder and saw the geese flying overhead, and half-heartedly snapped this image with my cell phone. With a little editing, this lovely image was the result. I have it on my desk to serve as a daily reminder to “take one last shot” whenever I’m ready to give up.

Finally, even though my style has evolved since the beginning, this image still represents who I am as a photographer. With its bold, reflective colors and touch of whimsy, I hope seeing this image makes your day just a teeny bit brighter.

Shot on iPhone X

Sunday Scene: Sunflowers

With their happy colors and intricate details, sunflowers have been a steady source of inspiration since I started doing landscape photography.

I am fortunate to live near several public sunflower fields that are welcoming to photographers of all types. When I needed something to photograph from the safety of my own home during COVID-19, grocery store bouquets of sunflowers filled this purpose while also lifting my mood.

With big, open, expressive faces that practically pose for the camera, sunflowers are the perfect subject for landscape and nature photographers like me. And, the images I have taken of sunflowers have brought me a lot of luck.

Sunflowers were the subject of one of the first photos I felt brave enough to show friends, family, and colleagues. I’ve also had my eye on membership in a prestigious online photography community, and a photo of a sunflower was my first qualifying image. My first big print order — now hanging in the lobby of a medical building — included, you guessed it, a sunflower field!

This particular image is special to me because of the conditions in which the flower was growing. I went out early one morning to capture the sun rising over downtown. The spot I chose was near the site of one of the public sunflower fields, but given that it was early winter and well past sunflower season, I didn’t expect to take any sunflower images that frosty morning. Yet, this lone sunflower was standing tall, and flourishing despite less than ideal conditions.

This image serves as my reminder that no matter what is happening around me, I can find a way to thrive. I hope it can help you remember how strong you are, too.

Sunday Scene: Spontaneous Sunset View

This image was taken on Topsail Island on Mother’s Day weekend. My parents booked a stay there without realizing it meant they would be away on Mother’s Day.

Feeling down after a particularly stressful week, I decided at the last minute to make the 6-hour round trip drive to see them so I could wake up with my Mama on Mother’s Day.

We had so much fun during that brief visit that almost didn’t happen. One of my favorite parts was walking around the island with my Mama in search of the perfect sunset view. She doesn’t care anything about photography, but she knows how much joy it brings me to explore new places with my camera. We had so much fun talking to the people we met on the street and laughing at ourselves while we tried not to get lost. I’m so grateful for our photo walk and for the time we spent together on that quick trip.

On this holiday weekend, I hope this striking sunset helps remind us all of the beautiful memories that can come from being spontaneous in big and small ways.

Canon Rebel T7i, ISO 400, f9.0, s 1/500

Sunday Scene: Love Where You Live

A sunset view of a small lake through the trees. — The best sunset spot in my city

While books are the primary focus of this blog, I promised I would also share a bit about my other passion — photography. Every Sunday, I will share one of my favorite scenes and tell you about the shot.

This week’s image is from the absolute best place in my city to go watch the sunset. The thing about this spot is that I have driven by it almost every day for 20 years, but I had NEVER visited until I started taking photos.

Discovering this place has been one of many things I’ve learned since I started doing landscape photography about two and half years ago. Since then, I’ve found countless other parks, public gardens, museums, and historic sites that I wouldn’t have known about if it hadn’t been for photography. I even discovered interesting things in my own backyard that I never knew were there.

Fully exploring places, both the familiar and previously undiscovered, has been one of the most rewarding parts of my journey to becoming a better photographer.

What new discoveries have you made through your passion projects?

Photo taken with Canon Rebel T7i, ISO 400, f/11