Stasia Schmidt

When I look through the viewfinder of my camera, I see potential to subvert expectations – real or contrived, societal or self-imposed. There’s a freedom in allowing my imagination to run untamed, knowing I can set up my camera and follow the creative spark to the trail it illuminates. Every shot has the potential to deepen what I know about myself and challenge how others perceive me or my subject. Boundaries of what’s expected dissolve, clichés fall away, and what remains is something altogether more vivid, more resonant, more provocative. Whether creating surreal self-portraits or capturing awe-inspiring vistas, my goal is to invite the viewer to that experience, and perhaps question the edges of their own expectations. I’m a photographer, an artist, a partner, a mother, a woman, always in search of the wild around me.