In 2017, I studied somatic therapy at The Pacific Center of Awareness and Bodywork, in Kauai, returning to the mainland eight months later, a changed photographer. This was largely because of PCAB’s emphasis on the psychosomatic, its diverse trauma-informed curriculum infused with studies not only of potent bodywork modalities and physical anatomy, but also of mindfulness, presence, and embodiment, somatic psychology, and affective neuroscience. Our reading lists included names like Bessel van der Kolk, Peter Levine, Gabor Mate, and Daniel Siegel. Our experiential study included Somatic Experiencing and Hokomi, as well as time learning about The NeuroAffective Relational Model(NARM), an advanced clinical training for mental health professionals who work with complex trauma. These were the realms of study that most lit me up, and continue to capture my attention today. These aspects of my education, the relational and therapeutic skills, now inform the ways in which I approach my photography. I enter into each session with a grounded sense of unconditional positive regard, a wholehearted acceptance and genuine admiration for every human that steps before my lens. I have a sense of the complexity that weaves through us all, rendering us unique, singular, and extraordinary. I see the simplicity too, the foundational belonging, the human being-ness that connects us all, rendering us inseparable, and held by the whole. From this vantage point, it is not difficult to recognize how beautiful and worthy each of us are, and to be seen in this wholeness is a powerful thing. Under such a gaze, we all settle, relax, and then bloom. Our gifts rise the surface, and our true beauty becomes readily apparent.

This is what makes my work so nourishing, to myself and to my clients. It is seasoned with the salt of my time in Kauai.

The presence and skillset that I’ve cultivated as a Somatic Bodyworker has proven profoundly applicable to my work as a portrait photographer. Drawing upon this knowledge and experience, I’m able to support clients in feeling more safe, grounded, and deeply present within their bodies. From this state of relaxed awareness, we can often offer ourselves more acceptance, compassion, admiration and respect. We become more playful, curious, and willing to explore. From both sides of the lens, photography becomes a practice of mindful wonder, a vehicle for self reflection and self embrace. The portraits that emerge from this process are powerful, capturing that part of you that is most at home in the world, your body, and your life. I am here to honor, celebrate and document the inherent beauty that lives within you.