Welcome!

More about me...

I was born and raised in Northern Wisconsin. I grew up in the country and played outside everyday. I think that contributed to the way I take photographs today. You'll find me laying down on the ground, bending over, leaning back, looking down...I'm all over the place during a photoshoot.

I met my husband when I was 20. We don't have kids, but we do have a couple of fur babies. We have sweet Pebbles, our 15 year old black lab mix, and Lacey, our 11 month old Dalmatian puppy. She was tough to manage as a puppy, but now she is just the sweetest thing ever and so full of love.

Besides taking photos for other people, I really enjoy taking pictures of animals, whether that's pets, wildlife, or cows. I sell some of those photos on Etsy and also here on my website. I also make calendars every year of the cow/nature photos I've taken. Those are usually available around November/December and sell out pretty quick. (Thank you to everyone that has supported my business).

When I'm not taking pictures, you'll find me helping out on the farm that I own with my husband. We have a lot of cows and I love watching the babies out in the pasture running and jumping around. We also make hay and do custom field work. That's more my husband's thing, but usually for the whole month of June (sorry, I can't schedule many photoshoots that month) you will find me wrapping hay. We wrap our hay and we also wrap hay for other local farmers. Running that machine is almost solely my job, and although it's loud, I don't mind running it because it's usually beautiful weather.

Another job I've had off and on since 2009 is wildland firefighting. I have been flown out west to fight fires in the mountains of Idaho and Oregon, and driven throughout Minnesota and Wisconsin for active fires and as a precaution during severe fire weather. I even had to walk across the Minnesota/Canada border for "The Border Fire" years ago. At one point, at the Trinity Ridge Fire in Idaho, we were higher than the airplanes that were flying around to do bucket drops of water. It was a unique sight to look out from the cliff and see planes and helicopters below eye level. Yes, I did experience a bucket drop a few times while working the fire line in the woods. The planes don't mean to hit us, but it happens and when you're in the woods, you have to do what you can to protect yourself from potential falling limbs or trees.

Back to photography...

I got my first DSLR camera in December 2012 after seeing an Ashton Kutcher commercial for Nikon. I loved the idea that I could take better quality photos and directly send them to my computer or phone. Well after lots of playing around and still not knowing how to use manual mode, I upgraded to a Canon 5D Mark III and a couple good quality Canon lenses in December 2015. I may or may not have had to sell my snowmobile to afford this. I figured I can take pictures all year versus only snowmobile when there's enough snow. It was with this camera and lens setup that I really grew into my photography. I learned all about manual mode and learned how to operate my camera very well. I was always practicing on our dogs running towards the camera and fast moving subjects like snowmobiles and wildlife.

When we moved off of the farm in 2016, I was around more wildlife at our new location and the outdoors became my happy place. Sitting outside spending time with the deer that would visit was like meditation for me. Over time, we've gotten so used to each other that there is now this unspoken bond of trust between us. Some of the deer will literally come up to the camera now.

October 2021 was when I upgraded to my mirrorless camera. I now use a Canon R5 and an adapter to continue using my full collection of lenses. My favorite things about this camera are the way it's able to track a moving subject across the screen, and the way it can be extremely quiet if I want it to be, which is so handy for wildlife photography or even wedding ceremonies.

If you have read all of that...wow! You're amazing. I hope it was at least a little interesting and you got to know me a little bit more. If there's anything else you want to know, please feel free to send me a message!

-Jena Lynn