Today I am so proud to introduce to you a gal that I have come to love and appreciate. She has a heart of gold, the most amusing sense of humor, eyes that are as blue as cornflowers, a tattoo that states her commitment to the bigger picture, quirky style, and wit that makes me wish I was that cool too . Oh yeah….and she is a thrifter…and has the most amazing collection of thrifted treasures. It has been a joy to have Laken on board with the CHAR co team as intern this year. Truly. All those weddings we have been shooting….she has been helping edit. All those albums getting printed…she made them look so awesome with her impeccable design eye. Helping with projects, events, and day to day studio life…Laken has been incredible. It is an honor to work alongside her this year.

I love her take and vision on meshing the beauty of people and the language of photography. With that, I will hand it over to Laken….

“I’ve loved snapping pictures for as long as I can remember. Granted, the pictures I was snapping back in the day were of things like stuffed animals lined up on my bed or our family’s cows minus the tops of their heads…but I loved it nonetheless! One of the reasons I’m drawn to photography is because I’ve always had a wide range of passions and interests that don’t really fit together (for example, on the days I’m not at the Char studio, I’m sporting Muck boots and forking cow pies – and loving it!). Photography often bridges the gap for me and weaves all of my odds and ends interests together. I can capture images of anything, anywhere! I love that.

I’m fascinated by people…their lives, their stories, their day-to-day…who they are and what shaped them along the way. More and more I desire to use photography to document and showcase individual lives and stories. Bill Nye has said “Everyone you will ever meet knows something you don’t.” Come on, it’s so true! That’s what drives me—the desire to know people, find out what they have experienced (and what they’ve learned because of it), and showcase and share their story.

So here I am, an intern at CHAR Company, gathering knowledge from this lovely team, and learning what these women have learned! It’s an environment rich in joy, creativity, and sincerity. I’m grateful!”

Xo Laken!!