My Background & how it shapes me as a photographer

Welcome everyone to Blackberry & Sun! I am so glad to have you here!

I am not just a photographer- there are so many things that I am, and they all shape my values and who I am as a photographer. Here is a table of contents of my many passions so you can jump to the topics that resonate with you:

Horses

Skiing

Climbing

Traveling

Art - graphic design, printmaking, woodworking, guitar, painting

Sustainability, Ethics, + ESG

Photography

My Bucketlist - let's make something happen together!

Do we have something in common? Share with me here!

I started horseback riding when I was 5 years old.

And then my dreams came true when I was 16 years old when I became a world champion. I had 3 horses over the years, Zee, Harley, and Luke. They were all paint horses, and Luke was a double-registered quarter horse. I competed all around the country in all-around events, but my favorite classes were always the hunters and the hunt seat equitation. I won a couple of world titles in the eq and over-fences classes, and in 2018 I ended up number one in the nation in NSBA for the hunt seat equitation.

I stopped competing in 2019. I had gotten burnt out, and my entire identity was only one thing- horses. I spent so much of my life mastering one thing that I wanted to venture out and explore everything life had to offer. And boy, it didn't disappoint. I still ride from time to time, and I miss it dearly. I hope from the bottom of my heart that I will get the opportunity to own a horse again someday!

Fun Fact:

My dream now is to go on a multi-day trip on horseback through the mountains, but back then it was to be a world champion. I used to write in the steamy glass in the shower everyday "I will be a world champion" for 3 years before it happened- that's over 1000 days in a row. I even missed my high school graduation to compete!

I am a ski instructor.

In 2020 I was lost; COVID hit me hard and I was in a full-blown identity crisis- I had no clue who I was without horses in my life. One day one of my friends I used to see at all of the national horse shows called me up and begged me to move up to Montana with her to ski instruct since my classes were moved online. It was one of the scariest decisions of my life, but it was one of the best decisions I have ever made. Montana has become one of my many homes, and it always holds a special spot in my heart. I will never forget the days of being a full-time ski instructor and a full-time student. I would do all of my zoom classes in the lodge and would teach lessons and take laps between classes. Since my ski career started I have ski instructed in Montana and Colorado and hold my Level 1 PSIA certification!

Fun Fact:

My favorite lessons to teach are kids and a 9-week long women's program! I love teaching all levels of skiing, but my biggest superpower is teaching beginner skiers with lots of anxiety and self-doubt. I suffered from so much anxiety growing up, and my favorite thing to do is help my students build confidence and a tool box of both technical and emotional tools to conquer anything they encounter on the mountain. If you want to strike up a conversation with me about skiing, ask about my "Ruth Bader Ginsberg girl"!

I am a rock & ice climber.

During my last year of college I learned how to climb thanks to my partner who just so happens to be a mountain guide! I am still relatively novice but I have enjoyed leading climbs in the gym and seconding up some great multi-pitch routes in Eldo, Boulder canyon, and Red Rock. I've also had a handful of fun days out ice climbing in Colorado, aside from the day where I ended up in the ER after a dinner-plate sized piece of ice came down and clocked me in the face. Face scar and all, I still love to ice climb.

I had just led my first ever sport climb outside when I got taken out by a wrist injury - 2 torn ligaments in my dominant hand. I am getting my wrist surgery on January 24, 2025 and hope to be back at it by the end of the year!

Fun fact:

I first started rock climbing in a tiny gym in Argentine Patagonia My favorite climbing experience was doing frog land, a 6-pitch 5.8 at Red Rock; my least favorite experience was bailing off of a climb at Devil's tower.

I am a world traveler.

I have been to over 30 different countries, but Argentina holds my heart. In January of 2020 I took a semester off of school to learn how to speak Spanish. I enrolled myself in a full immersion school and got placed to live with a family who didn't speak English. COVID hit when I was down there, and I had to take a government-issued charter flight back to the states. I was heart-broken, but finally in 2024 I took the leap and took my redemption trip. I reunited with my host family and traveled through Argentina and Chile for 4 months!

Fun Fact:

I went on an unplanned, last-minute trip to Easter Island because my partner asked in a chocolateria called Rapa Nui, "Isn't Rapa Nui the name of the indigenous people on Easter Island?" I pulled google flights up to show him how expensive the flights were- usually between $700-$1200 per person, but after finding tickets for $285 each we RAN home to book our tickets. We didn't get to finish our ice cream that day but we did proceed to have the trip of a lifetime making friends on Rapa Nui and seeing the moai.

I've always been an artist.

From when I was 1 year old, I would sit at the table and draw with crayons. I would mostly draw horses- surprise, surprise. I kept drawing horses through high school, but I never had the time to master the craft as I was always at the barn riding at the time. I started exploring art more in college when I stopped competing and have since picked up so many different mediums:

Graphic Design

My graphic design journey started when I was 12 when I was playing an online game called "Howrse". Because of that game, I learned how to html code and created digital pixel art and gifs on microsoft paint. In 2018 I got an IPad an downloaded procreate. By 2021, I became Assistant Director of Design at TEDxCU and created the 2022 TEDxCU Breaking Boundaries logo! Graphic design continues to play a big role in my life- I am constantly using my knowledge to bring my artistic ideas to life.

Fun Fact:

Someone once commissioned me to create a custom wallpaper of their dogs when they were building their house- it' lives in their laundry room and it's the cutest thing ever!

Printmaker

Printmaking is my favorite medium of them all! I took a printmaking class during my second-to-last semester of college Spring of 2022 and fell in love! I begged the grad student teaching the class to help me get into the "for-majors" relief class, and she put in a good word and I snuck into the class! As quickly as I fell in love with printmaking, I quickly lost access to all of the tools, mainly a press, to continue creating work. Since then, I have been determined to make it work and in 2024 I reached out to printmakers in Argentina and Chile and got to carve and pull editions of prints during my travels!

Fun Fact:

Someday I would love to try lithography! I think there would be so many layers of meaning in a litho piece because of the process of drawing onto limestone, the same kind of rock that I sometimes find myself climbing outdoors!

Woodworker

My last semester of college I took a woodworking class and built my own ukulele! My parents never worked with tools and so I had never picked up a power drill in my life until that class. I was so intimidated between my lack of knowledge and being only one of two girls, but it was so worth it! Now I have a passion for woodworking and a dream is to make my own guitar someday.

Fun Fact:

I worked as a woodshop monitor for my university the following semester- just months earlier I didn't even know how to use a power drill and suddenly I was overseeing the safety of students and making sure people were using all of the saws and tools safely. What a 180!

(Very) Amateur Guitarist

I first learned how to play guitar when I was in Argentina in 2020 from a friend I made named Tomas. He taught me on his uncle's beaten up old guitar. It was missing a string and had a massive hole in the body. Tomas eventually took me to a guitar store where I bought my first guitar for $80, and it now is one of my most cherished items I own.

Fun Fact:

The first song I ever learned on the guitar was fingerpicking "Little Black Submarines" by the Black Keys. It took about a month to learn! Today I am still better at fingerpicking than I am strumming chords.

Painting

I love painting with acrylics, gouache, and watercolors. My favorite thing to paint is mountains, specifically at alpenglow. I love pairing deep purples and lavenders with light, dreamy, pinkish-orange hues.

Fun Fact:

One of my favorite things to do is mix my mediums together. Every so often on my Instagram, you'll find collages combining my photography, digital art, paintings, and block prints.

I have a degree in corporate sustainability.

I studied Business management with an emphasis in ESG and corporate sustainability at the University of Colorado. I could talk about sustainability and ethical issues all day long! They are topics that I care about deeply and want to continue advocating for through my work. Connect with me on Linkedin here.

Fun Fact:

I have worked on a couple of amazing projects including filling out an entire B-impact assessment (through B-corp) for Breckenridge Brewery. It was hundreds of questions long, but so rewarding to see sustainability in business at work. The other project was working with a non-profit based out of Zambia!

Photography runs in my family.

My grandfather used to travel all over the world with his Hasselblad 500c. His favorite thing to do was take photos of orchids and the beautiful places he visited- Switzerland, New Zealand, Italy, Austria, Moab, the Maroon Bells, and more. I first picked up a camera in 2014, years after he passed away. I started shooting film in 2021, and although I wasn't old enough to appreciate his love for photography before he passed, I feel that travel and photography runs in my blood.

Fun Fact:

I serendipitously ran into a guy who asked to take my photo on his film camera while I was shooting grad photos on campus. I turned around and he was carrying the same Hasselblad! Fast-forward 2 years and he taught me how to shoot on my grandfather's Hasselblad and taught me how to develop said roll of film!

What I'm trying to say is that I love to try everything!

From sailing, sewing, stained glass, textile weaving, and cooking to earth ships, luthiers, permaculture, cattle drives, and more, I am excited to try nearly anything I can get my hands on!

What are you passionate about? I am so excited to get stoked to get to know more about what makes your heart sing- contact me and tell alllll about it!