more about me
I didn't expect to be photographer for a career. In fact, I went to school for sociology and literature. At the core, my desire turned to people and our stories. The stories we keep, the stories we share, the stories that make us.
But when my friend asked me to photograph her engagement session in October 2010, I realized that my capacity to find those stories and keep them for people could come through in photography. I launched my business then and have never looked back.
And those two over there are my husband of 12 years, Stephen, and our son Henry.
(Photo credit: Lauren Rae Photography)
{she/her}
I'm Ashleigh
I am a total cat lady and will happily tell you all about my Holden and Gandalf all day long.
I am a co-founder and board member of Trailblazers School of North Georgia in Buford. It's a secular, nature-based K-5th grade homeschool co-op/hybrid school, and I'm immensely proud of what we're building.
I am an avid reader, mostly of fantasy and science fiction - genres that I also love in video games. I want to believe that I'm an equally avid hiker and aspire to be a mountain biker, but, well, we'll just say those are life goals for now.
I was born here in Gwinnett County, Georgia, but spent much of my time growing up in the Midwest. I consider both here and Detroit to be my hometowns.
Even though I'm generally pretty reserved, I don't embarrass easily. This means I have no problem being the awkward one to make things less awkward for you. I also have the vocabulary of a well read sailor (but I do know how to rein it in when the occasion calls for it.)
Days since I've dropped either a Schitt's Creek or Hamilton reference: 0
Always zero.
(I mean, I have a couple of Hamilton ones right on my homepage. I'm helpless.)
Spring 1997.
A long time ago now, but I can still feel the day these images were made. They're nothing special on the surface. Some snapshots from a disposable camera.
But to me, these photographs are everything.
They're an anchor to the last time we went out on my aunts' boat with my grandfather. The day they handed over the helm to him and let him captain us around on Lake Erie.
We had no idea then that it would be the last time. We couldn't know it. My grandfather had a stroke that July. We said goodbye 15 months later.
These pictures remain on my desk. A reminder of the last good day we had with my Poppy, yes, but also a reminder to hold fast to the things that matter most. You never know how long time will last, and photographs preserve every bit of the love, the joy, the pure happiness of being together.
Photographs don't just document an event. They anchor you to that time. They can transport you back to being in those stories all over again.
And that is beyond priceless.
what photography means to me
