Lunch with Andrew /  by Jessica Peterson

I've wanted to start a photo series of my "people".  
To just make some beautiful images of who they are.
I spent the afternoon with Andrew today.  He came over to my house.  We talked for a while, catching up, gossiping and offering advice we both needed.  
I took some portraits of him, it usually takes a while, I like to make sure that if I am taking photos of people that I spend enough time for them to sorta "forget" the camera is there.  I like it when I see the "are we done yet?" face 'cause it's only after that moment people stop posing and I can steal real moments from them.
After pictures we went for lunch when Andrew pulls out of his murse (man purse) an old tape, he was so excited about this tape that he just bought on ebay about dating.  He asked if I had a tape player... guess who got an old 1970's panasonic tape player/recorder for Christmas?!! ME! So we went home and listened to this tape while I downloaded and edited these pics.  It was a blast. 
I liked my afternoon. 


Please Vote For Me! /  by Jessica Peterson



I have entered the PDN wedding competition 
I would love if you could please help me out by voting for me
It will only take a few minutes
Go To HERE
Click on the image you would vote for, you will need to use an email address but I promise it will be worth your time.
Thank  you so much friends!

Water /  by Jessica Peterson

I've been obsessed with water lately.  Warm water. I like to be in it, I love the way it diffuses light, I like they way it becomes a different world than the one we live in.  I love the symbolism behind it, cleansing, making new.  I love the weightlessness, I wish I could always be light.
These are images of Rachel, shot a while back (it is her birthday today).  The second one down is my favorite. 

I never thought I would ever put a photograph of myself in a swimsuit but here it is... wishing i was a fish.

/  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.