Nicole Keintz - In the Spotlight

Click on the image to see more of Nicole's work

This is a blog post that's a testimonial to so many different aspects of our industry and social media.

Two years ago I wrote a post about believing in yourself. A photographer from Montana, Nicole Keintz commented on Facebook. It was a nice comment, and I responded back. Later I took a look at her website. That day she sent me the image above, which I ran across in my email this morning. Remember, I'm an old-fashioned guy and still believe firmly in the power of a phone call.

Well, I just hung up the phone after talking with Nicole for a few minutes. I love the image more now than I did two years ago and that's the second piece of the story. Nicole's had a tough year, and after brain surgery in the last year she's had a hard time getting back the passion for the craft. Not that she didn't want to, but like so many of us when life has interrupted our dreams, she was questioning her confidence level.

And that brings me to two last points and the pure joy I have in sharing this image:

Everything happens for a reason, especially the timing of things in our lives. The conversation I had with Nicole gave both of us a boost. First, she needed a little confirmation her mind's eye visions needed to again be pursued. Second, I love this image and talking with Nicole was inspiring. Plus, it energized me to look at some of the things I photograph just a little different.

And last on the list is that thin line photographers cross when an image becomes art. Not all of us define it the same way, but with Nicole, it's often about the influence of the great masters. In regards to this image she wrote:

This is a multiple exposure image of a flowering crabapple tree, taken this spring at a cemetery near my house.  I am very inspired by impressionist painters, and I like to experiment with different techniques to "paint" with my camera.

Now called, "Impression of the Pink Tree," it's become one of her most popular pieces of work. Big thanks to Nicole for allowing me to share the image and overlooking it took two years for me to respond to her email! It certainly wasn't intentional, but it seems like it was meant to be.

It's time for her to "get back on the horse" and get a camera back in her hands! And, I can't wait to see what she shares next!