Please welcome our Featured Artist for last week’s Inner Lens theme, Dawn Schaefer of peek photography + design!
Hey Dawn, please tell us a bit about yourself.
I’m Dawn, the photographer-designer-all-around-creative-rain-loving-girl behind peek photography + design. I am a family and child lifestyle photographer living in the Great Pacific Northwest. When I’m not taking pictures or obsessing over typography, I am busy chasing my three year old little man (otherwise known as my muse, my inspiration, my heart). I love that photography provides you with a memory on paper – something you can look back on years from now and remember exactly what point you were at in your life.
How do you incorporate emotion into your photography work?
For me, light and the seasons play a huge part in giving an image a certain feel. I find during the summer months, my work has a feeling of joy, happiness and an overall carefree tone. Then comes the rainy Pacific Northwest winter and my images take on a darker, more intense and moody feeling that comes with the short, gray days we experience here in Seattle. I find during the winter I am doing a lot more with black and white conversions vs. my bright, colorful images of summer.
What has photography taught you about your own emotions?
I’m a super emotional person. I need to have some sort of creative outlet to express myself – be it photography, design, drawing or dance. Its easier for me to pick up a camera or sketchbook than openly convey how I feel – which is good and bad in its own way.
Has photography ever provided a healing outlet for you during a difficult time?
I’ve never needed photography as a healing outlet, but it is the one thing that is mine and only mine. Its a personal connection within myself that I, alone, own.
Please share five favorite images with emotional meaning for you.
I am obsessed with pictures of my son’s feet. I believe they tell a story – where he’s been, but also where he’s going… and it’s so rare they are this clean!
His cautious little fingers exploring the world around him reminds me just how delicate life can be.
Such a perfect contrast to my winter images – the pure happiness and joy conveyed in this springtime shot makes my heart soar every time I see it!
The light, the rain and the moodiness all came together so amazingly for this shot. It’s one of my all time favorites and so perfectly represents the winter here in the Pacific Northwest.
The warmth and the calm of this dreamy morning-time image reminds me there are peaceful (yet short-lived) moments in motherhood.
Thank you for sharing your time and talent with us this past week, Dawn! To see more of Dawn’s work, please visit her website: http://www.madeyoupeek.com and be sure to follow her on Facebook, Instagram, and her brand new collaborative project, Boys Will Be Boys!
