Vulnerability, Flow, and Presence - Sedona Empowerment Photographer

I had the pleasure of photographing Kari almost a decade ago in Seattle, Washington. It was the beginning of me really launching full speed ahead into my business, and we worked together days after I had just quit drinking. I still don’t drink, what a gift to my creative process that was.

Kari is a beautiful musician and when I met her she was flying trapeze, something that always leaves me in awe. She met her husband that way, he was a catcher. Her coming down the isle looked like flying through the air into his arms. What a catch….

I have so much gratitude that these two drove from Palm Desert just to shoot with me. We had a beautiful shoot, and I will let Kari talk about it in this blog.

Kari said she had recently been in Africa where she photographed a lot of cats in trees. She definitely harnessed cat in a tree energy.

Kari told me she wanted something different, not your “normal” photoshoot. Although I did take some more natural portraits, she gave me that permission to get creative and experiment a little.

From Kari -

“I had the honor and enormous pleasure of working with @portraitsbydawndra this week on a very special Goddess Shoot in surreal Sedona, AZ. This area is already spiritually charged; energetically and instinctively alive. Coming from the past few months of health challenges, both the landscape and Dawndra met me with compassion and inspiration.

Working with a photographer and artist who understands about walking the rough edge of growth makes the shoot powerful and healing in so many ways. If you’re able to travel to Sedona, Dawndra is there for a few more months. She will crawl inside and find the crunchy and the smooth, and help you express both.

Allowing vulnerability and flow while still being physically present and aware during a creative process is a gift. To be able to play with stunningly brilliant artists at the same time is the cherry on the cake.”

“Each morning when I wake, I make the conscious choice to live in a positive way.  As we all know, life can throw curveballs that greatly test that motto.  I was diagnosed with two types of cancer last July; one in my uterus, and one in my cervix.  It was a shock, to be sure, but I was determined to learn through the experience of ultimately losing my reproductive organs, and the emotional blowback that ensued.  I spent 10 weeks in bed, recovering from 2 major surgeries that prohibited walking or standing for more than 3 minutes at a time.  I lost months of work, and decades of confidence.  I gained weight, lost muscle, and felt more physical pain than I'd ever experienced before.  I had only been in a hospital once before, when I donated my kidney to a fellow musician.  While that experience felt like a gift both given and received, this latest round of surgeries felt like a theft.  For months, I wrangled feelings around femininity, sex and sexuality, value, and purpose.”
  

“When I booked a session in Sedona with Dawndra, I knew I wasn't feeling my best, physically or emotionally.  Ultimately, I decided that it was more important to document who and where I was right now, rather than wait for the "perfect" moment.  I couldn't be happier that I took that leap.  The landscape is magical.  The desert is an energetically-charged place to begin with, but the life force in Sedona is palpable.  Dawndra helped me feel comfortable, powerful, and present in what we were creating.  I felt a shift in my attitude about how I look and feel.  I realized, almost instantly, that the truth of who you are flows from you effortlessly if you allow the release through vulnerability.  You will never look or feel tomorrow how you do today.  Life can change in an instant... but the truth of who you are remains eternal.”

A Power Rooted in the Earth

Women are the daughters of the wild—born of water, nourished by storms, whispered to by the trees. Their roots stretch deep into the soil, drawing strength from the bones of ancestors, from the secrets buried beneath sacred ground. Blessed with a wicked instinct.

Women Empowerment Sessions are $950 (soon to be $1100)

Let me help style you, we can discuss the colors that work with the landscape. First I take a $200 deposit, the rest is due the day we shoot. The day after we shoot you will see sneak peaks, and your fully edited gallery with 80-100 images will be finished in 4-6 weeks.

You can find Kari HERE ON HER WEBSITE or HERE IN INSTAGRAM