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!