A Homecoming Captured

A couple months ago, I had the honor of photographing the incredible Elizabeth McGuire getting ready for her performance as Peggy Sawyer in The Lexington Theatre Company's production of 42nd Street. I first met Elizabeth in the early days of The Lex's Artist Development Program, when she was one of the teachers for their online classes for young performers. I then got to work with her again three years later, when I was in The Lex's The Sound of Music. Elizabeth was the Associate Choreographer for that production, and it was lovely to do a show with her. When I found out that she was going to star in The Lex's 42nd Street, I reached out to Lyndy Franklin Smith, the amazing co-founder and Artistic Director at The Lex. I asked if I could take some portraits of Elizabeth in and around the theatre, and possibly even of her getting ready backstage. Lyndy helped finalize dates and details, and then she asked if I would like to write an article to accompany the photos in The Lex's newsletter. Of course, I said yes-I was so excited!

Elizabeth got to the theatre ahead of her call time, and we walked through the building as I took posed portraits of her throughout the space. We then went back to her dressing room and she began doing her makeup, getting her wig ready, and getting into costume-I got to document her full transformation into Peggy Sawyer. I followed Elizabeth until the curtain went up for the opening number.

I love photographing these candid, behind-the-curtain moments backstage. Getting to capture such precious time is a privilege and so important and special to me. It was especially nice to get to do this with people who are imortant to me, in a place that is so meaningful. I'm so grateful to Elizabeth McGuire, Lyndy Franklin-Smith, and The Lexington Theatre Company for giving me this amazing experience that I'll never forget.

To read the article I wrote about Elizabeth's journey, check out the link below!

https://www.lexingtontheatrecompany.org/the-lex-latest/a-homecoming-ten-years-in-the-making

World Photography Day

Today is World Photography Day! I first picked up a camera in 2022 after a lesson on the photographer Ansel Adams, and photography has been an important part of my life since. I started taking photos of my dogs and the nature around me. After a little more than a year, I expanded and started taking family photos and headshots of friends.

Then, in March of 2024, I reached out the @suffsmusical social media asking to be on the red carpet for opening night. I didn't really expect anything-I was eleven then, but as I said in my message to the Suffs team, quoting the Suffs promo poster, "If there isn't a trail, blaze one." When the incredible team for Suffs allowed me on the purple carpet, I was delighted. I had the best time photographing the carpet, and I'll always be so grateful to the PR team for allowing me the opportunity. Suffs brought me so many gifts-relationships, opportunities, experiences, and more. 

Not long after, I had a dream come true-I started volunteering at my local animal shelter, taking photos of the adoptable pets. I've loved animals for my whole life and I've always wanted to help animals get adopted. Using photography to find them homes brings me so much joy.

In August of 2024, I got to take a trip to Canada to stay at Parc Omega, a CZA accredited park with numerous wildlife species-foxes, deer, bison, elk, and my favorite animal, wolves! We stayed in a "Wolf Chalet", a lovely chalet with amazing views of the wolves that are basically in your backyard. Photographing my favorite animal was so surreal. On our way back from Canada, we stopped in Seneca Falls, the birthplace of suffrage and the home of the famous 1848 Convention-the very first women's rights convention ever in the US. I photographed the church in which the convention took place, the house of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, a suffrage leader, and the quaint streets of Seneca Falls. It was truly the most fun photography trip!

I continued to expand my headshot/portrait business, and then in February of this year, I got the amazing opportunity to photograph the red carpet for Redwood the Musical. This was another incredible red carpet experience where I formed and solidified more relationships.

In April, I got to return to the Big Apple to photograph three Broadway openings and an influencer dog! @littlebearlumi is an adorable social media-famous samoyed. I had so much fun photographing him and his wonderful mom, Jackie. That night, I headed to Circle and the Square Theatre to photograph the opening night red carpet of Just in Time, the new Bobby Darin musical. The night became even more magical when my sweet cousin Valeria, who is a Siren in Just in Time, was posing on the carpet when she recognized me. We had communicated via social media and texting, but we'd never officially met. She came over to me and said, "What's your name?" I told her, "Isla", to which she replied, "Isla! You're my cousin!" and hugged me. It was such a sweet moment.

The next day, I got to photograph Kelly Belarmino, who played Liesl to my Brigitta in a regional production of The Sound of Music a few years ago, getting ready for her Broadway debut in Roundabout Theatre's Pirates! The Penzance Musical. This was my first experience photographing backstage and I loved it. It was extra special getting to capture the magic of my sweet show sister's debut. A few days later, I got to be on the red carpet for Real Women Have Curves, where I got to once again work with the incredible PR team from Rubenstein who I’d met at Suffs. Getting to walk onto this carpet and know so many people was so amazing.

Not only has photography opened doors to places I would not have otherwise had access to, it has also allowed me to hold a mirror up to the people, places, and things that I love the most. Getting to do all these big things in New York has not only created opportunities for me there, but also closer to home, and I couldn't be more grateful to get to photograph friends and family and capture their important moments. In July, I got to photograph the rehearsal dinner for the wedding of my cousin Campbell and his now-wife Morgan. This was such a full-circle moment and I loved getting to photograph my family celebrating someone we all love.

Getting to capture the world through the lens over the last three years has been amazing. There aren't even really words to describe everything photography means to me, but I'll just say that I'm so deeply grateful for everything photography has given-the experiences, the people, the relationships, everything.

Happy World Photography Day!

A Year Later: A Dream Come True

I've always loved animals. In fact, I've never had less than two at once in my house, sometimes, as many as four. All of my family's pets have been adopted from shelters, so I've been passionate about rescue my entire life. When I first started photography, I considered the idea of reaching out to local shelters and asking if I could photograph their adoptable animals. And I did. But...between the constant level of overworked and understaffed that most rescue groups are, and the fact that the emails were coming from an 11 year old, none responded.

Last May, that changed. I went to a "Kitten Shower" hosted by my local Humane Society. They had some of their youngest kittens and were having a kitten party to raise donations and supplies. I'd reached out earlier that day through their social media to ask if I could bring my camera and capture a few images of the cats interacting with the guests and each other. They said that would be fine, and I loved getting to photograph those tiny kittens. As I was leaving, one of the volunteers asked if she'd seen me on the news-I'd been interviewed about my Suffs experience, where I'd actually mentioned that next goal was to photograph shelter animals. Turns out, she was the same woman who'd allowed me to bring my camera that evening! I brought up volunteering, and while I was younger than most volunteers, she said she'd see what she could do. I was thrilled!

She reached out the next morning, and sent me an application-including a requirement for my mom to chaperone as well as get the animals from thheir crates for safety reasons. A few days later, Elizabeth, the volunteer coordinator, emailed me and offered me the (volunteer) job! When I tell you I squealed-I squealed. The next week, on June 12, one year ago yesterday, I went into thhe shelter and explained that I was a photo volunteer. Elizabeth gave me my first subject, Shalimar. He was a sweet, adorable, wild pit bull mix puppy. I took him outside to one of the Humane Society's "Henry's Houses", which have little fenced yards, where I let Shalimar safely run free. I threw tennis balls, bribed him with treats to sit and pose, and took photos of him running and playing. The next day I sent my images to Shana, the amzing adoption specialist I now check in with weekly.

Since then, I've photographed well over 200 animals, and had so much fun. I can't fully articulate how much this means to me. Getting to help shelter pets get adopted has always been a dream of mine, and getting to specifically use photography to do that-it's incredible. This passion project is so important to me.

When we adopted Blizzy, my sweet husky, it was partially because we first saw her photo on the shelter's website, and so I'll always be grateful for that photographer, for catching our eyes with Blizzy looking so mischievious and cute. I wanted to do that.

I wanted to use my talents to help these beautiful animals find loving homes-and thankfully, for the last year, that's what I've done.

Thank you to everyone who made this possible, and thank you, especially, to all the kind volunteers and staff at the Lexington Humane Society. One thing I've learned over the past year is how many it takes to help shelter animals find loving homes, and how tirelessly they work. I've watched shelter staff and volunteers fight for the creatures in their care, I've seen them get emotional over animals with sad stories, and I've watched them cheer when long term residents find forever homes. I've watched them tackle the less glamorous parts of animal rescue-cleaning crates, walking dogs in poor weather, treating illness-and I've watched them give treats and belly rubs and love the adoptable animals as they likely do their own pets. I'm so thankful to get to know so many of those wonderful people and to be the tiniest part of that very important work. Thank you all for making this experience what it is.