I’m a storyteller at heart, a writer through and through, and I think that my affinity for allegory is present in nearly every creative endeavor I embark upon. My photography certainly, my blogging, obviously, but my fashion, well, probably not. So I was enthralled and enchanted when I stumbled upon a company that allowed story to play a role in my (mildly obsessive) love for fashion as well.

Id’ like to introduce you to Story Company (and my five minutes in the modeling industry!) Story company, like most things that start small, and with ample heart, had humble beginnings. Started after a trip to Africa, the company aimed to present women with opportunities otherwise not available to them. Women who live in extreme poverty and have no access to the global marketplace. Women – artisans, creators, weavers, potters, bead workers – who create amazing art. Through the sale of their handmade items, they are able to live a different story. A better story. A story with more opportunity and a brighter future.

These women are given the chance to change their story.

But what does any of this have to do with you? Or me? Or this little blog? The short answer is: Everything. It starts with us – each and every one of us – striving to give back. To do more. To act locally and think globally. To support and encourage and promote things that are and do good. And Story Company makes it really easy to do that. Go take a look at some of the incredible jewelry there – and you’ll likely recognize this:

I wear this necklace almost non stop and is one of my most treasured  accessories. I love it so much in fact, that I have no shame in being a self-proclaimed ambassador for it.  Story also has an incredible Home Goods line, worthy of it’s own blog post. But we’ll save that for another day.

Because today….I have a circle dot necklace to give away!!! Yes. Story Company has graciously sent me a necklace to gift away to one lucky winner and I’m soooo honored to share it with you guys! So here are the details: To enter, simply visit the Story Company website and have a look around. Browse. Window shop. Fall helplessly in love. Then go to facebook (make sure to “like” Story Company) or Twitter or Instagram and let us know which is your most coveted item, making sure to mention @storycompany! Then, leave a comment here telling me you did so!

Because the best way we can give back and pay forward, is by spreading the word about this company – the women behind it – and how each of us have the ability to be a story changer.

xoxo

(Contest will run from now until 11:59pm on Sunday and is open to residents of US + Canada. )

(Top photo by the amazing  j. stoia portrait design)

While I was off in Colorado having my mind blown and life changed, I shot a few rolls of film. I planned to shoot a roll of landscapes, and double expose it with portraits of the new friends I made, but like all good plans involving a first timer who is also a complete idiot – I failed. I accidentally rewound the film all the way and was unable to double expose it. I also accidentally opened my camera in the middle of a roll and ended up with some of the most fantastic light leaks ever. A mistake I plan to repeat.

With deliberate and utter intention.

But I digress.

I love film – I’m mildly obsessed with it in fact – and if I had a constant stream of hyper disposable income I’d likely shoot a whole lot more of it. I like not having to edit. I like embracing the mistakes, the flaws, the imperfections, the inconsistent consistencies. And most of all, I love the honesty of film. The color. The grain. So without further ado – and prattling on by yours truly – here are a few frames from my time in Colorado.

Perfectly imperfect.
Completely unedited.
Solely on film.

(Black and white images shot on Fuji Neopan 400 and Color images shot on Fuji Superia 800 with Nikon F100. Processed and scanned and Richard Photo Lab.)

I talk often about how blessed I am – how lucky I feel to be able to make images for people, to document such miraculous and wonderful and amazing moments in their lives. As trivial or trite or contrived as it all might start to sound, I truly mean it. I AM so lucky. I am thankful for photography partly because of what it does for my soul, but mostly for what it allows me to do for others.

These images become our legacies. Someday, they will all be old photographs. They will outlive us.

Last Saturday I spent a few hours with my friends Cortney and Trent, and their five week old little girl Colie. My uterus contracted, tears welled up in my eyes a time or two, and I made a few photographs for two people who just became a family of three. And with every single click of the shutter I became more and more convinced that what I am doing with my life – where it is that I am right this moment – is exactly where I was created to be.

xo
athena