/  by Jessica Peterson

I wish I could remember where I pulled this image from, sorry I can't give credit to the photographer.
I can't get enough of this image and what it is saying.
Just wanted to share.

The Mermaid /  by Jessica Peterson


Last August I photographed these. 
I had not wanted to even look at these because of the painful memory attached... You see, I have wanted to do an underwater mermaid shoot for years, finally it all came together a few months ago but when we got to the underwater part, things kinda went south... The camera housing was not locked on tight enough and water spilled in and drenched my new 5D camera (it died).  No underwater images and no  camera... So, I am sure you understand why I have not wanted to revisit that day.
Anyway, here are some of the shots before camera decided to depart this earth.
One day soon I will fulfill my dreams and photograph a swimming mermaid.
Until then....

Thank you to the friends who made this possible:
Rachel Clark for makeup
Leah Schreiner for mermaid costume
and Natalie Hess for being so amazingly beautiful

One of the reasons I do what I do /  by Jessica Peterson


I just spent the last 4 hours of my life fumbling through one hard drive after another looking for certain needed images.  I can not believe how many photographs I have taken over the years... although most of them are rubbish I have stumbled across a few little frames that fill me with gratitude that I was able to catch and keep that moment.  Right now my desktop is full of at least 100 of those moments that have been pulled from hard drives tonight, unfortunately they will sit there for a few days only to be put back onto another hard drive and forgotten about.

Maybe I will post them randomly...

It's fascinating how many details of a memory can be surfaced by a hint of a smell, a word, a taste or a tiny visual reminder.  This image above is from a day I spent with D, a close friend of mine, in this one moment I was trying to take a picture of the light through my hair, after this frame she then took the camera from my hand and took a few shots (but mine turned out better)... I loved that day so much.  I loved the house I was living in at the time, I was the happiest there I have ever been in my life.  That same day I took engagement photos and D assisted me, we used the chalkboard I made, I loved photographing that chalkboard.  I miss that house so much, I miss spending time with D and miss the sunshine during that time of year.  That same day we just hung around, being ourselves with each other because I can be my purest self with her and she with me.

...a lot can be kept in a second if recorded.  I am grateful for the tools to do so.

On my wall /  by Jessica Peterson


New additions to my wall.
A vintage frame Jon and Diana gave me for a birthday a while ago with a tear from an old medical book of the anatomy of the eye...
A page from a vintage pin-up girl calendar.

My Big Brothers Wedding /  by Jessica Peterson

Last month my brother T got married!  
It was a beautiful wedding, unfortunately I wasn't photograph it, they had an amazing photographer do that, I just enjoyed!
I am so happy for them and I loved spending time with the whole family.


 ALSO.... Alpha Smooth (who is just amazing) set up a photobooth at the reception, they are really great.  You can see them on her blog 

Advil and dogs don't mix. /  by Jessica Peterson


Wednesday afternoon Max thought it would be a good idea to chew open a bottle of ibuporfin.  I wasn't sure how many he had eaten and at the time he seemed fine so I didn't think much of it until later that night when his insides fell outside.  Luckily there is a 24 hour vet a few blocks from me so I brought the poor dude in a 3 am.  They prepared me for the worst so I thought I might not ever be bringing him home.  Luckily he has been doing better, I went for a visit today and he seemed comfortable and sleepy.  If things keep going as they are I will be able to bring him home tomorrow.

Thankful for these people... /  by Jessica Peterson

I am sorry my blog has been invaded by these faces, but they are what I love the most.
I was blessed enough to spend the week with them.

I loved finding a table full of amazing drawing of monsters... These were my favorite, I love the floating monsters holding hands.