With a little help from my friends

I've been excited to do this post for a long time! Ironically enough, instead of making me write faster, though, my excitement has just slowed me down. It was nearly impossible for me to pick out which photos to post. (They are all so lovely!)

Shelby is a dear friend of mine who I've known since high school. The girl is incredibly talented, both musically and artistically; she probably has more talent in her pinky finger than I have in my whole body. She has been looking to expand her photography portfolio, and I've been looking for someone to take pictures for this blog, so it works out perfectly! She and I will be collaborating whenever possible, through the rest of the summer and hopefully when we're both on breaks from school.

We have yet to do our first shoot, but until then, I present you with some of her photography, and a little interview. You can also follow her on Flickr and Tumblr. Enjoy!

How long have you been working on photography?
I started taking of adventures with my best friend in 7th grade. Then I got into the whole myspace thing and was like "I reaaaaaally need to have good pictures so no one will think I'm a noob and I will be accepted in high school aaaaaah!!" Then I actually grew to view it as an art form, a perspective. So to actually answer your question, six years.
What do you love about it?
Photos, writing, music- art allows me to show what I actually feel. I'm terrible when it comes to talking about emotions-- mine, at least. And one things I'm absolutely terrible at is drawing- expressing myself two-dimensionally. And photography in a way helps me do that. I also love photography because I have so many memories wrapped up in my photographs, as well as projections of where I want to go, what I want to do.

What inspires you most, and what do you seek to portray in your photos?
I am most inspired by history and nature. Things that catch my eye are things that look like they have stories. Like the Crazy Horse monument- that's a story worth telling. Like the notes my uncle leaves behind in books of poetry. Nature is the major subject of my photography simple because I love it. I love to be outside. I love its simplicity, the ecological and historical aspects of it, and how activity in nature can parallel our lives.

Your house is about to burn down and you can only take one camera with you. Which do you choose, and why? Is it film or digital?
I would take my Honeywell Pentax, no doubt. It's a film camera, produced between 1964 and 1972. Its lens is pristine, its focus phenomenal. And it was given to me by my friend Reilly, who drives me absolutely mad but is absolutely the most unique person I've ever met.

Why is photography important to you?
Photography is a perspective; it allows me to say things that I can't say. It says things broadly, with room for interpretation on the viewer's part. Photography is the merging of my perspective and your perspective, and I think that union is something we should try to achieve in every aspect of our lives. Not to surrender our viewpoint, but to accept others.

This is just a very small selection of her photos. Do check out her work - I think you'll be as enchanted as I am!