About Us

The Team:
Val's team includes several individuals and organizations in order to bring  beautiful photographs and resources for your spiritual journey of photography. Val's books published by Upper Room Books. 
Val & Her Photography

My goal as a photographer is to share scenes that evoke emotions that will speak to the viewer. My hope as a photographer is to offer feelings of joy, potentiality and peace through the photos. I believe we all need beauty around us. 

My goal as a spiritual companion in photography is to offer books & classes to help individuals experience photography as a spiritual practice. The resources also offer photographers tools that help them share their spiritual journey with those around them.     

Sandia Mountains in Winter

My journey in photography began at an early age. My grandmother said I would spend hours looking at the pictures in National Geographic before I was able to read the text. I was fascinated with visual imagery. Once I had a camera I loved receiving images. When I was in college I realized I could see more than what my little pocket Instamatic could record. A photo journalist friend helped me purchase a camera -- a Canon Ftb. We sat in McDonald's while she gave me a quick lesson in how to use the camera. After 30 minutes she said, "Now, go take photographs." The camera was film, all manual and soon became an old friend. Today, I also use a digital camera for the ease of uploading the files and printing them. However, the old Canon Ftb is still my friend as we record images together.

I loved the sense of quiet I experienced when I was out recording the images -- writing them on the canvas of the film. One day I finally connected with the spiritual experience of photography.  Thus began the journey that emerged as the book Meditation on Both Sides of the Camera -- the experiences where photography informs our spiritual lives and our spiritual lives inform our photography. My digital book, Meditation on Both Sides of the Camera was published in 2012 by Upper Room Books.  Currently, it can be purchased as PDF on my website.  See Mediation on Both Sides of the Camera in the Resources and Books Product Category. 

I began selling my photography in 2000. My family had been telling me for years that I needed to sell my work. I was between graduate school and a job when a couple of friends convinced me to try selling my images.  In 2003 I moved to New Mexico. The beauty and spirituality of this state and the surrounding southwestern region provide a perfect location to record images and sell them.  In 2013 I opened Genuine Southwest Art & Gifts in Plaza Hacienda in historic Old Town Albuquerque with 2 other female artists.  The shop provides an excellent venue to sell my photography along with the work of many other local artists. My current business partner and I are retiring at the end of the year when our lease is up.  At that point my website is the only place where my photography can be purchased.