I was here, I was alive,
and it was perfect.
Born in rain and destined for the desert, I’ve never been able to stay put for long. My drive to see humanity in the wild along with my fear of forgetting have led me to keep one eye in the viewfinder and the other peering forward. I left the comforts of home and watched the landscape fade to brown, fueled by a deep connection and love I’d never known the likes of. In the midst of the southwest desert I found beauty in vastness, a place to rest, and a warm body to hold in the middle of the night.
Pictures preserve the history of us. The bonds we share between each other, forged by our determination to truly live. This is the birthplace of my creativity. I yearn to know love intimately and to live so fully that each moment pushes the boundaries of what I knew before. My feeble attempt at holding this in my hands is all I have to offer in this life. I want to give you the chance to hold it too. A fragment of your life, forever frozen, capturing the love that occupies each breath you take together and all the other seconds in between. There will never be another moment like this.
Some day I won’t be able to roam, towering saguaros will be replaced with walls, my knees will creak and my bones will protest in waking hours, the aches of a life well-lived. The people I’ve loved and forgotten will place a photo of my youth at the bedside and in that moment I will find my way back to her. Despite the worn edges and colors faded by time, she will tell my grandchildren and great grandchildren stories of a day they’ll never see.
I honor the depth and complexity of real love with reverence.
Hi, I'm EMILY
I take photos for the person in the frame, and the person in the future, and the person left to clean it up when I go. Pictures demand to be looked at, seen, absorbed into our subconscious. Hidden in lockets and hollowed-out books, tucked into back pockets and taped to the fridge, stuck in the dashboard and the corner of the mirror.
Through them we see generations shouting back to us:
In the desert
Writing
Walking my pups
Hiking
In MY spare time you can find ME
I will be honest with you— I will not show you a life you don’t live, an experience you didn’t have, or a relationship you are not a part of. My job and deepest want is to guide you, and provide a soft landing place for YOU to be honest with ME. In order to do that, we must first connect, and then we will find that honest place as a unit. My work and life follow five key pillars: organic, unposed, authentic, light, and timeless. Don’t get it yet? I understand. I can explain.
The approach that sets me apart.
