In early February, just a day shy of my 42nd birthday, I did something that felt both necessary and terrifying: I let someone photograph me for my business.

On the very first day back at work after the holidays, I was greeted by a pair of foxes. It’s still a bit of the wild west around my building—landscaping is unfinished, and the area isn’t fully developed yet. I see wildlife daily—deer, crows, the occasional jackrabbit.

But foxes? So close to the door?

December was a nice cap to a nice year. As I closed out my work in mid-month, I had this amazing sense of complete security in my business. I can’t recall ever having that feeling so wholeheartedly. And, you guys, it feels nice.

I used to feel bad, like a failure, when someone didn’t like my photography. For many years, I thought I had to be everything to everyone. But as my style developed and my confidence grew, I realized it was an impossible expectation for everyone to like everything I produced.

While photographing an event a couple of weeks ago, I realized how deeply photography feels like hunting. Capturing a moment, an expression, a glimpse of the human experience—it all taps into that primal instinct, and it’s the core of what I love about this work.

If you’ve ever been lucky enough to be in a room with a gaggle of photographers, you know we can’t shut up about gear. And, of course, we don’t! These are the tools of our trade, and without a bunch of this stuff, we couldn’t do what we love.

It was inevitable—summer had to end. It always seems like it's going to last longer than it does, but like everything in life, it flies by too fast. With the kids starting school last week, I find myself once again in the familiar role of enforcing routines, a role that comes with both relief and resistance.

My office, bright and comfy with a faint citrus smell of whatever reed diffuser I decided to get last month from Target, feels nice. The room, by no means, is instagram-perfect. It’s often messy, cluttered with orphaned cameras and lens caps, unopened mail and coffee mugs.

Quite honestly, writing this series has been a fun, pain-in-the-butt experience. It’s been good for me to have a task that’s not in my normal wheelhouse, and whether or not these musings are valuable to y’all, I know that they act like a nice little timeline for both my work and my mindset.

The other day, one of my clients dubbed this month "Maytober." Between the end of school and the first few glorious weeks with great weather (and no bugs), this lovely spring month is always busy for everyone.

Boom! Like that, it’s the end of April. Where did the month go? I think I’m going to ahead and blame our streak of warm days which put me in a summer-like trance. Now, I spend all my spare time making plans and trying really, really hard not to book too many weekends out of town. After all, there is gardening to do.

When I was a wide-eyed newbie, back even before the days of Instagram, I had a love of setting little photo challenges for myself. This once involved blocking the screen of my digital camera for an entire week, just to see if I could make images without instant feedback (hey! I could!)

Earlier this month, I celebrated my 41st birthday—just one more than forty (not that I’m keeping track). Truth be told, stepping into this new decade has been an emotional challenge for me.

I’ve always cherished the beginning of the year for its freshness and renewal. Twelve years ago this month, I launched Britta the Photographer, and nearly every year since, I've introduced something new into my business at the start of the year.

Today, charged with a bunch of autumn squirrel energy, I thought it was a great time to pick up the communication plate to share some studio details and let you know what's happening with Britta in Business.

I handed in the keys to my Moorhead studio today. It was a bittersweet end to a significant chapter of my story as Britta the Photographer. For the last couple of weeks, my emotions have been all over the place, processing the end of this era of my business and welcoming what’s to come.

As you may already know, my current studio is set to be on the chopping block as Moorhead makes way for the 11th Street Underpass. As the last holdout in my building, I will finally be booted out in late February.

Before I even started my business, I made it a point to chat with a bunch of savvy business owners. I asked them about the things they’d learned, what they wish they would have known and any advice they had for a newbie.