Texture was our theme this month and Lynette Marie Photography was the chosen highlighted guest artist. Her image was beautiful and showed so many elements of texture. We wanted to learn a little bit more about Lynette and so I connected with her recently to learn just that.
Tell us a bit about yourself? and Are you a hobbyist or a pro?
“I’m a hobbyist. My legacy to leave to my children and grandchildren will be photos of their lives, our lives, life itself, the beauty and respect of nature. I want them to realize how I saw life and how what I love makes me who I am today. Mother of three beautiful daughters (1 biological 2 girls I married when I married my husband, their dad) and 5.5 precious grandchildren. Our youngest daughter is due this spring with our 6th grandchild. I’m blessed to be married for 31 years to my best friend, the love of my life and soulmate. Then there are my canine sons, Ace and Deuce. They are my daily dose of laughter and unconditional love: Always. Without hesitation or judgement, dogs are much like the many other miracles of nature. I’ve been so fortunate to have learned early-on in my life that nature is to be appreciated, respected, and protected from those who unfortunately do not see the many miracles nature is responsible for in our lives. My photography reflects these beliefs much of the time in different ways. I learn from nature and wish others could, too, for I feel they are missing out on so much peace and harmony. Harmony is a word we don’t hear or practice often enough. Like many others, I am my own worst enemy and guilty as charged for being a perfectionist. Decidedly, this trait is what helps to make me, me.”
“For so many reasons, I am a hobbyist and realized too late in life that I should’ve pursued my dream earlier of becoming a photographer. With that said though, there are many happenings in life that took place in order for me to become a photographer. Had the doors which closed in my life remained open, it’s quite likely I would not be a photographer right now either.”
What will we find in your camera bag?
“My Nikon D3300, 55 and 200mm lenses, cleaning supplies, dog treats, a squeaker that was chewed out of Deuce’s toy (yes, by Deuce) and makes a nice expression making tool for photographing dogs and children. Backup, fully charged battery, lip gloss (because a gal can never have enough hidden in all the right places), and a lot of stuff that probably could be left out of the bag and stored at home but you never know when you may need this or that, oh! that too. See? Told you I was a perfectionist. Or is that OCD? (smiling) Either way, I always over prepare and pack for everything!”
Who inspires you?
There are a three very influential photographers that helped me say, “I can do this.” “The ultra talented and sweet Holly of The Timekeeper, Jenn Franzin of Pretty Pixels Photography, and Megan Hassold of The Megan Hassold Photography Co. The true inspiration for photography comes from within myself for our girls and grandchildren. As a legacy, there will be books and photos of life through my eyes and what made me happy, passionate, and livable. People are too busy. We all need to slow down and learn how to live in the moment more than in the future or the past. Therefore, I wanted to capture all the moments, beauty, sad, cute, adorable, ugly, bad, messy, playful, serious, and just plain true life mixed with my emotions through my editing. Family is so important. It’s everything. If all else fails, family should always be there as a cradle.”
What inspired you to pick up your camera initially?
“That’s an easy one for me. Nico! Our youngest daughter is our biological child and my only. Therefore, Nico is my only blood grandchild. There is no less love for my other grandchildren and no more love for Nico. It’s just different. Truly there are no words that can possibly describe it. It just is what it is. There is a bond between Nico and I that only he and I share. It was my privilege to help care for him for approximately 3 months of his early life so he wouldn’t have to go to daycare until the fall (my daughter and son-in-law are both educators). Without hesitation, I packed up my then design and publishing business, computer, camera, dogs and headed south to become a part of a new life. My husband and I would take turns on weekends driving to each other a few hours away. What I learned and experienced in the form of love and bonding, I cannot possibly explain. He and I know. We just do. And that’s okay with me.”
Photoshop or Lightroom?
“My photography really doesn’t have a lot of edits. I tweak a little here and there mainly with the balance of light and tones. Otherwise, I love and allow the natural life around us to show. Otherwise, what’s the point of photographing staged, planned and poised photographs. No one lives that way. In my opinion, to photograph what you love the most is so very important.
If you had to choose one area of specialization what would that be and why?
“Without a doubt, anything and everything to do with nature. And there’s this thing I have about old churches, old buildings, the oddities, the forgotten, the unusual. Those photography moments are always with me. When I see them, I just know it. To be able to document our times with our grandchildren, my boys Ace and Deuce, and of course the interaction between one another in our family when we are all together is my absolute fave. But I’ll take the little moments in between with my boys, my husband and the world around me everyday of the week and be just as happy. It could be the beach. (Okay, the beach is probably my most favorite place on earth.) It could be noticing beautiful flowers on a drive or a walk. Or there is the river life on the beautiful St. John’s River which we are blessed to live next to. It could also be the sunset while sitting on the lanai. Really my photography and reasons for photographing is to capture whatever makes me happy at that moment when I have my camera around my neck. So if you don’t want your photo taken when you see me with my camera, run the other direction! True words! It’s kind of fun now at functions to see them always looking around.”
You can view Lynette’s work on her Facebook page. Take some time to head over to Lynette’s page and share a little bit of love with her.
Share Six has the theme Music for the month of January. Join us on our Facebook page or our Instagram (#sharesix_music) page and share your images for the theme Music
Look out for the new theme on February 6th.