I grew up on a ranch in Southwest Montana, surrounded by the beauty of the wide-open skies and dominating Rocky Mountains. As a young woman I spent my days dreaming of leaving the small town, moving to the big city, wearing a business suit and heels, working for an advertising agency. Today I am living my dream; only a little different than planned. My true dream was realized only after many disappointments mingled with much opportunity.
My high school graduating class totalled 46 (not a typo) I can still match every single name to every single face in my Senior class picture. And, typical of most small towns, I can probably tell you something naughty and nice about each person. After high school I attended Northwest College in Powell, Wyoming where I graduated with a degree in photographic communications.
After graduating from Northwest College I moved to Minneapolis - ready to conquer my dream. It didn’t take long for me to realize, however, that the big city was just not for me! I decided to return to college. Afterall, what do you do when you don’t know what to do as an adult? Go back to school.
This road lead me to Klamath Falls, Oregon where I worked at the local newspaper to put myself through college, again. It was there, in that cluttered walk-through office of the three-person photography department, that I saw photography in a new light. A journalistic light. My eye was so trained on the stuffy, highly controlled environment of product advertisement that this (almost) chaotic genre was a breath of fresh air! It was there that I learned about exposing the twinkle of pride and amazement of the new father, catching the energy and ambition of the high school senior, clutching the passion and love of the newly engaged couple and unveiling the tenderness and endearment of the bride and groom. Over the next few years in the photography department I realized that I made a horrible mistake by overlooking my talent as a portrait photographer.
With the encouragement of my extremely patient husband and vigor of my two-year-old son, my dream of opening my own photography business, Stratton Natural Light Photography, has become a reality.
Stratton Natural Light Photography is more than just a name and a business. Afterall, anyone with a camera and a good name can call themselves a photographer. My dream and motive is to seize those intimate moments, emotions and relationships in your life. Capture them. Bottle them up within the frame of my camera. And present them to you in the form of a photograph so you can cherish those memories for ages.
Thank you for choosing Stratton Natural Light Photography. I want your photos to take your breath away so call, text, or email me - let’s chat. Let’s build a relationship. Let’s make sure you’re needs are met with my photography. I am so excited to work with you!
