Behind The Lens

    With a background in fine art and psychology my artistic journey has naturally lead to photography. There exists no finer realm for creative exploration, capturing human intimacies and preserving expressive visual communication, than behind the lens of a camera.

     When I'm viewing the world with such abundantly hungry eyes I find no greater satisfaction than preserving what I see and reveling in the opportunity to share it with others. I believe the world pulses with a vibrant and colorful energy far too radiant to ignore.

    One facet I find especially appealing lies within the core of human relationships and primarily the family.  There exists an exquisite beauty of tenderness between infant and parents, brother and sister, or a full term mother and her developing baby. A few recent years ago, my own sense of maternal completion came to fruition when I gave birth to my son and two years later, my daughter. Motherhood primed me to see the world with an illumination I never imagined possible. Suddenly, my awareness of life and the stunning collection of precious moments had me breathless.

      Today my obsession--my living, waking, breathing purpose lies in a quest to celebrate those moments. My passion for photography reaches far beyond the dear immediacy of my own children. It sings out across all humanity. I long to open the eyes of every parent to their own inner light and the beauty that radiates from the new lives they have created. To introduce a mother to her newborn in a moment she will never forget with the focus of a lens and the snap of a flash. To weave a colorful tapestry of emotion and heartfelt joy that transcends the era of a family and stretches into an heirloom keepsake for eternity. To cause laughter and smiles with an occasional shimmer of happy tears. To bring mother and daughter and father and son to a place of togetherness and the camaraderie of a magical moment.

    I want to unfold and discover the shyness of youth and the outgoing zeal of adventurous toddlers. I desire to preserve the bravado of boys and sweetness of girls. To hold onto the moment not for a second or an hour but allow families to rekindle a sacred instant forever. I am a photographer because I am joyously addicted to that contagious grin and knowing glance. Because at the end of a satisfying day I am content in the fact that I have achieved my purpose and helped you celebrate. I am a photographer because I am putting the most important thing into focus...LIFE!!

Photographer, ~Ashley Edwards