I’m so excited to finally be sharing this project. Coffee Musings is a series that I created in order to grow my style in portraiture but to also get involved in the emotional aspect of photography. The idea came to me a few weeks ago when I was browsing through my previous work and realized that while I may take lovely pictures, I don’t really know much about the people I photograph. In a way it made me feel like my work was a bit superficial without any depth, substance, or meaning. Photography is supposed to be a connection between an artist and its subject. I longed to be able to not only capture my clients in an honest and organic way but to genuinely take interest in them as a human being. Because of this, I came up with an idea to combine a few of my favorite things, photography and coffee dates.

I had a clear vision in my head when I started this project, I wanted to use my home office as my studio and photograph during the day when the sun shines in at its brightest. I envisioned two people sitting across from each other on barstools with a coffee in their hands and music playing in the background. I didn’t want to spend my time talking and instructing movements but rather take a silent approach, listen, and photograph when I felt my heart tug. I wanted this approach to enable me to capture the person in their most natural and comfortable state, to really draw out their personality in my images all while learning about who they are.

I completely stepped out of my comfort zone for this project. One of my biggest leaps of faith was shooting this entire session in Portra 400 Pushed. I’d never photographed using Portra before, let alone pushing it one stop. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t totally love the contrast and mood that pushing film gives your images. It’s a bit different from my typical style but it was something I’d wanted to try for a while and it turned out to be a successful way to push myself as an artist.

Andrew

When I first expressed the idea of starting this project I described it in detail to Andrew on a long car ride home and then proceeded to ask if he’d be willing to be my first person I tried it out on. As most of you already know, Andrew is my husband. He is genuinely my other half in this life and I wouldn’t be able to survive without him. Just the other morning at the breakfast table the girls were asking why I chose to marry him and the answer was simple: because God made him for me. I could go on and on about what an amazing husband and father he is, but then we’d be here for a while. Instead, I’ll tell you a bit about who he is.

Andrew is 31 years old, he was born on March 4th and lived his whole life in Northern Wisconsin. He’s the baby of the family, with two older siblings. Growing up Andrew spent most of his time playing in the woods behind his parents’ house, he’s always had a heart for adventures and trying new things. Growing up he wanted to go to school to become an anesthesiologist but after discovering he has an aversion to the sight of blood he changed his goal to engineering. His dream was to move to Rochester Minnesota and become an engineer and programmer for video games. After graduating he moved to Minnesota and attended college there where he earned his bachelors degree in Engineering. He was also a part of a fraternity and despite his quiet demeanor, is quite the social butterfly. In 2007 he moved to Vermont to work for IBM. The summer of 2008 is when we first met at a church gathering. After several months of courting, we decided to make our relationship official in January 2009. A few months later we moved to Wisconsin together and were married. And the rest is history.

Andrew now works as a programmer for a company in Madison. He’s an avid Nintendo fan, and can often be found watching video game reviews and playing games on his Nintendo Switch + DS. He has the dryest sense of humor and is the master at playful banter. If he could he’d choose to have tacos for every meal and puts hot sauce on everything he eats. He’s the rock in all our lives, keeping me grounded all while lifting me up. He plays a big supportive role in my life and is the perfect example of a good man. He’s constantly pushing me to better myself all while handling me with all the patience and care in the world. Until I met Andrew I’d never known what it felt like to be so passionate about something that you’d fight every obstacle to make it work. I walked through life giving up on everything the second things got hard but Andrew gave me a reason and showed me how to fight, to love, and to care. I’m so grateful to have been given a person who gave me a definition of what love is and who loves me just as I am. We’ve been together for over eight years and he’s proven to me that even if something starts out a little rocky, stick with it because it could become something truly amazing.

Soundtrack

During this project, I played music in the background while we talked. Lately, when I envision projects and future shoots I create not only a visual mood board but a soundtrack as well. Music is something that helps me get a better idea of what emotion and feeling I want to evoke in my work. Because of this, I created a playlist on Spotify that was completely for this project. Music that I knew I wanted to play in the background that perfectly described the reaction I wanted to achieve from the person I chose to photograph. These are a few of the songs that helped shape this project. I recommend listening to them while you view and read this post!

Mess is Mine • Vance Joy

Scream • Oddnesse

Sleeping on the Blacktop • Colter Wall

Photography Details

Lab: PhotoVision Prints

Film: Portra 400 @ 800 iso

Camera: Pentax 645N

Lens: 75mm @ f/2.8

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5 Comments

  1. There’s so much in my mind right now that if I were to put it all here it probably wouldn’t make sense! I’ll try little by little! I’m very proud of you and you are such a inspiration to me and I’m sure many many lives. As I was reading I could relate to you in many more ways than I could’ve imagined. Besides learning more about you, the way you see things and where you’re heading I also got to know more about your soulmate. I am beyond words happy for you to have found him! Actually for God putting you in each other’s paths. Seeing how he’s supporting you with this project by letting you capture him. Listening to you. Most likely giving you his opinion as well… That’s amazing! I am very excited about this project. I see where is heading and how extraordinary your mind and skills are! You’re an angel and I only hope you can continue on believing in yourself and see how amazing your photography is! There’s much more I could say but I think I made my point haha! I love you! God bless you all always!

    1. Gosh, these words were exactly what I needed! Going about this project has kind of put my business down a whole different road. It’s been a challenge going down this road, mainly because it seems like I’m by myself but I’ve been determined because I finally love what I’m doing so to get your wonderful and positive feedback has been terrific. I can’t tell you how grateful and thankful I am! I’m excited for you to be able to see all the other wonderful people I’ve photographed in the past few weeks. Thank you once again for all your support, it’s people like you who make being an artist so great. Love you so much, girl!

  2. Just WOW….. the beauty in the simplicity of this project is amazing. The unscripted moments can truly capture a person. I think you are on to something wonderful with this!!