Photography is a passion that Ashley Strong happened to fall into. Her curiosity was sparked a few years ago when she started playing with her boyfriend’s digital camera. When she received her own Cannon camera for her college graduation, she started looking at the world through her camera lens. She was intrigued by the changing of seasons and captured nature’s delicate transformations. Nature photography has become a big part of her work as she has captured the silent but beautiful moments in nature such as a dragonfly landing on a branch or pelican majestically opening his wings.
“ I love this world.” Says Strong. And Strong’s love for this world has not only led her to travel to the Portugal Islands, Australia, San Francisco and up and down the coast of California, but it has also allowed her to find the natural beauty hidden inside the different elements of nature. And through her lens this beauty is exposed.
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“I have a picture of the sun but around the sun is a prism, there’s like a rainbow entirely around the sun… and at the time I was in a car of people who were my family… and staring up at the sun long enough to realize that there was a prism, and it took me 20 tries with me hanging out of a car window with playing my camera trying to take a picture.”
Although, her journey with photography started with nature, the more comfortable she became with her camera the more compelled she felt to photograph people. She started doing studio work, then expanded by meeting people through art walks. Slowly but surely she transitioned into photographing weddings. And although to many couples the wedding day is a magical day it is also a very chaotic day, especially for the photographer.
On a typical wedding shoot day, Strong almost masters the ability to be in two places at once. She is constantly running back and forth between bride and groom, photographing the moment the bride brushed her hair, or the moment of laughter as the groom talks to his friends, and making sure she doesn’t miss the couples first kiss or the guest who catches the bouquet. After all that she will steal the couple away for intimate pictures of just the couple.
"I would be lying if I didn't say its nerve racking too because the moments are so intense Strong confesses." but it's kind of the fun of it.
Her wedding shoots, are just as unpredictable as they are busy. Although Strong is careful to plan ahead, the wedding environments are never the same and often change because of the weather. However, Strong makes sure she is prepared for it all and knows how to incorporate an umbrella if there is a chance of rain.
Her Versatility with photography and her enthusiasm for life has guided her to take some amazing photos. Who she is, has contributed to her photography and her photography has contributed to who she is. “Photography has enable me to put what I can’t put into words out there," say Strong… "with that it’s given me a medium to communicate with people.”.
Author' Note: Out of all the photographers in the world, Ashley strong stood out to me. I was captivated by the natural colors that radiate in her photos. And after sitting down and talking with her I was refreshed by her happiness and appreciation of life. One thing she said to me was that to her success to me is waking up every day smiling, happy and being enthusiastic about life. If only we all measured our success like that.
For more on Ashley Strong check out: wwww.ashleystrongphotography.com
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