Y’all! I’ve officially made it six months writing this little monthly recap. Okay, okay, okay. I know today is technically July, but it’s better late than really, really late. Right?

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.

June has been such a full month, causing me to be a bit on the struggle bus regarding what to share here. Admittedly, I’ve been a bit behind with all things actual work (photographer friends, I know you can sympathize with the summer swamp), so I’ve put this recap on the super back burner thinking divine inspiration would hit me and I’d spew out 750 brilliant and profound words.

But instead, you get this: a straight-outta-my-head-rambling-on-not-much.

And you know what? Whatever. It’s okay. I think in both business and life we have seasons. At some points, we have both the time and mental energy to be more reflective. And during other times, it’s okay to phone-er-in a bit to stay above water.

In all seriousness, going forward I hope to share a bunch of things regarding my life as a photography biz owner. While I’ll continue sharing the random musings rattling around in my head, I also want to share some other aspects of life as a photographer business owner. Fun things like what’s in my bag or the tools that keep my biz movin’, and maybe even a deep dive or two on a few humans who inspire my work and my life.

If there is something you’d be interested in me writing about, please send those suggestions along! I’d love to hear what you’d like to see more of.

Hey? Where did June go?

As I mentioned above, June was very full. I had quite a few out-of-town jobs that really threw a wrench in my normal workflow. My usual work continued with lots of headshots, group photos, meetings aplenty and even a couple of weddings. And in every spare minute, I’ve been editing… editing… and editing some more.

On the summer solstice, I hosted the Studio Shindig at the studio. It was a little party that celebrated my 12th year in business AND the opening of Studio Borealis. Thank you so much to everyone who made it out, and for the tons of well-wishes I received from those who couldn’t make it.

Oh, yeah. It’s summer now.

I’ve been trying my best to be present for my family even as the busyness of my work life ramps up. I’ve been able to take my fam along with me for a few of my out of town jobs. Earlier in June, they joined me in MSP while I did a few jobs down there, and a couple of weeks ago, we did a quick trip to the North Shore alongside me photographing a friend’s wedding.

In June, we threw rocks in Lake Superior, found a few gems at the thrift store, and even saw a couple of Trolls in Detroit Lakes. With one month down of summer and two to go, we are trying to soak in as much as we can.

Five Fixations

And now it’s the time of the recap where I share five things I can’t stop thinking about.

Eminem

I don’t know how I got here, but I think I’m mildly obsessed with Eminem. I watched his new music video “Houdini” in early June and some how got sucked into the Eminem rabbit hole on YouTube. I’ve now declared “Rap God” as my favorite Eminem song and have now watched every interview the man has done. Who even am I?

Trolls in DL

I’m a sucker for a good public art project and the Troll installations in Detroit Lakes is as good as it gets. Part adventure, part art exhibition, the Trolls in DL is part of an ongoing project by Thomas Dambo, a recycling artist from Denmark. His Troll installations have been viewed all over the world, and we are lucky enough to have his newest work right in our backyard. My family and went to meet the Trolls this past weekend and it was so fun to see these very impressive structures in person. If you get a chance, I can’t recommend this adventure enough!

Neutrogena Revitalizing Lip Balm

A tiny shout-out to my must-have summer beauty staple. I flippin’ love this lip balm.

Smosh Reads Reddit Stories

I’m an avid podcast listener, much because I have so much time in front of the screen doing mundane tasks such as editing. I’ve burned through many true crime podcasts, but lately have needed something lighter. Spotify, being spotify, eventually fed me Smosh Reads Reddit Stories. Apparently Smosh is whole YouTube thing I never knew about because I am old and I missed out of the “youth YouTube” era of the 2010s. In any case, they have this one show called Smosh Reads Reddit Stories which is basically just this dude who reads reddit stories to a panel and they make comments on it. It’s light and fun and easy and it’s exactly the content I need right now. You can find it on Spotify or watch it on YouTube.

tragedeigh

Speaking of Reddit, the Tragedeigh subreddit is my favorite place on Reddit right now. It’s a whole subreddit about the ridiculous names people choose for their children. It’s judgy and funny and a bit of a guilty pleasure. 10/10

July will bring more family time as I embark on vacation next week to attend an annual friend festival. The rest of the month will return to its normal rhythm as much as my work schedule is in the studio. I look forward to catching my breath as August will inevitably ramp up again.

Until then, here is are 10 snaps from the month, work or otherwise, captured in June.

1: The lovely Jennifer from Tellwell. 2: Khale & Lacey during their quick and lovely backyard wedding. 3: Custom Stock for The Bank of Elk River. 4: The amazing duo of Ashley & Sara. 5: Flower delivery with Hope Blooms at Riverview Place in Fargo. 6: Nils’ senior photos 6: Wedding portrait of Edwin & Lydia at the Palisades on the North Shore. 8: Interoffice owners Aubree & Joe. 9: Custom Stock for Russell Herder. 10: Pharmacist/Realtor Fatme Younes for her recent brand shoot.