About Laura

Call me Eclectic…

I’m a motorcycle riding free-spirited……geek?!?! That is how my friends describe me when I asked them.

These are my three babies above (you can safely assume I am highly adventurous and some would say thrill seeking). My other “babies” are all of the furry and scaled varieties (cats, rabbit, fish, miniature horses). And don’t forget all the backyard critters (deer, raccoons, feral cats, chipmunks, and a very chunky groundhog) . Yes, I can’t help myself. I have to “help” the wildlife have a nice dinner every night, too. I’m an animal lover through in through.

No, I don’t have any of my own human children. But, yes, I do love kids. Not having them just makes photographing yours that much more special for me!

I read about a book every other day. Love coffee and cheese. Geek out on horror and superhero movies, and am usually found wearing some sort of sarcastic or pithy t-shirt. I love Pokemon and anything with cute, bug eyed, chibi animals. I also do a lot of biking and running, mostly to ward off side effects of my dead pancreas (Type One diabetes, 35 years and counting). I can often be found in antique and craft stores. I paint, draw, and do graphic design work as a side hustle (Not so shameless plug to my art website here: Eclectic Girl Art.

Why Photography?

I didn’t always know I wanted to be a photographer, but I did always know I wanted to be an artist. It was between that and becoming a storm chaser, but I wanted to be able to pay the bills, so I chose to be an artist. Nobody told me about the whole “starving artist” thing until it was too late. Thankfully everything has worked out for me….16 years in business and counting - I’ll count that as a win!

I grew up loving to look through old photos. I enjoyed being able to “meet” and get to know relatives that passed before my time. I also liked looking back at moments from when I was so little I couldn’t really remember them.

I was gifted my first camera around eight, and took as many photos as the price of film (and my parents) allowed. My aunt was also really into photography and we bonded over long drives through Amish Country taking pictures when I was a teen. It wasn’t a surprise when I declared photography as my major before heading to college. While I was there, I had a pretty traumatic event in which I lost my horse, who truly was my best friend. I had taken photos of him the night before the accident. There is something about being able to hold a person (or animal in my case) in your hands after they gone. It gives you healing you can’t find any other way. It was all that I had left of him, and I cherished them more than anything else I owned. It was at the moment when I realized what I wanted to photograph. I never had photographed a person before then, but haven’t looked back since.

“That is the magic of photography. As humans, we all reminisce about our memories, but photography helps bring them back to life. Whether it just happened yesterday, or ten years ago, being able to hold a moment in your hands is a very powerful thing. It motivates me to capture photos for those who also recognize the preciousness of a moment and want to save it for all time” - Laura