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Arcosanti – Arizona Citrus and 70’s Inspired Shoot

Phoenix is known for its Cacti. The desert and all it’s beauty is what comes to mind when you think of Arizona. And I love it. If you travel to Mesa you will not only see cacti but you will see acres and acres of citrus fields. I discovered Arizona is one of the only states that can produce citrus! These beautiful fruits bring pops of color to the brownness of this place and it has made me fall more and more in love with living here 🙂 I can’t wait to have an orange or lemon tree in my back yard one day!

I want to share a little bit about what inspired this shoot.

Last year Voyage Phoenix Magazine asked me to do an interview with them. You can view that here! The interview really got me thinking about where I get my inspiration from. This interview took me on a little journey to discovering what my personal style is in photography is. How am I different from other photographers? I started to look at my work and I realized I kind of go along with the trends of the industry. I favor the dark and moody style. I avoid greens and prefer neutral colors and so on. The more I thought about it I realized this isn’t really what I love. Don’t get me wrong. I love a good moody edit but I have always loved color and I was decided to do a shoot bringing in colors I love. I mean if the sky is blue let’s let it be blue because after all most days in Arizona involves a bright blue sky. I moved here rom Illinois and am used to photographing with gray or cloudy skies but it has been my goal to embrace harsh lighting and not be afraid of it. A friend in high school described me and my style once as “a colorful artsy”. That phrase kept popping up in my head as I dreamed up this 70s inspired photoshoot at Acrosanti, Arizona.

Speaking of Acrosanti…have you been there?! Stop what you are doing and plan a trip now. This “Urban Laboratory” is unreal. This place draws artist from all over the world seeking inspiration and so much more. Check out their website to learn more here :).

One of the things that has inspired my work lately is my grandparents. Not only do I love browsing through old photographs of them but I love the creative eye my grandmother has. From a young age I remember spending time each summer at her house. Her style has always been my favorite. My grandma’s house (in the very best way) is partially stuck in the 70s. I love it so much. She owns a bright orange chair and a mustard yellow and green floral love seat (so dreamy right?!). Her couch is a dark green and you can find vintage nic-nacks everywhere you look. From a young age I dreamed of decorating my house the same way. Her creativity has always really inspired me.

My grandpa passed away a few years ago and every time I have a grapefruit I think of him. My grandparents had a retirement house in Florida and they would ship a big box of citrus to our house every Christmas. The thought of adding citrus fruits has so much more meaning to me than just being pretty. It’s a tiny thing but in a way I think he would be happy that even through something as small as this his memory can exist. 🙂

In addition to finding inspiration for this shoot, this past year I happened to stumble upon the cutest vintage shop in Mesa, Arizona called Buckhorn Vintage. I entered the shop and my jaw dropped because it was the style I have loved for so long. I chatted with Cristin, the shop owner and we started dreaming up some amazing photo shoots to do together.

This shoot pushed me so hard to dream and bring to life all of the things I mentioned above. It was not possible with out the vendors and people I mentioned below. Every person shared the same vision and brought my dreams for this shoot to life.

When you don’t feel creative or inspired stop and think about where you are looking to gain inspiration. Stop scrolling and go outside. Make a mood board, dig deep within you and find what makes your heart happy or sad and use that to create. Then do it and don’t care what anyone else thinks about it. Do your own thing and do it for you. Write, sing, grab your camera. Whatever it is just don’t let lack of inspo stop you.

Check out the video from the shoot!

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bu7R1uiF-CT/

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