Check Out Anamaria Meeker’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Anamaria Meeker.

Hi Anamaria, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I’ve always loved art, music and theater ever since I can remember. I became interested in photography during my college experience while studying design, architecture and art. This was “back in the good old days” when we were required to use manual vs. automatic cameras for all our projects. I still pat myself on the back today when I share the story about how me and my best college friend, Julie, would laugh and laugh while trying to load our film in the total blackness of the dark room lab, pinching our noses from the smell of the chemicals in the trays while our photos literally developed.

I find the history of Photography totally fascinating and love looking at the old sepia images from the early days when weddings were the some of the main events photographed and the only record of family history. Speaking of family history, after graduating from Syracuse University in New York, my professional career led to many different cities and states far from home. Sending photos became my way of sharing my experiences and staying connected to my family. Whenever I said my goodbyes after a visit I’d always hear, “Send us some pictures, please!”

Life went on pretty much as any other until 2013, when I was diagnosed with breast cancer. My daughter was a junior in high school and my one and only. I was very fortunate to have survived my cancer journey and have been cancer free since then. That experience has profoundly changed my life and how I view the rest of it. The biggest lesson I learned during that time was that Life can change at any split second, and most of the time, we are not aware of how much we do not see while living it. I became much more aware of slowing down, taking time to really enjoy the little things in life, especially time with friends and family and nature and the beauty of our world.

That is what I try to capture in the images I share. To me, they are reminders of these split second moments in time that are beautiful and missed because of the speed at which our society moves today. Sometimes just sitting in nature and enjoying the silence is the best therapy in the world.

The other side of that is that my parents are now in a place where they cannot travel as much as they used to and have lost some of their mobility. I think about that when I travel and hike and climb and go to places where I know they will never be able to go. My photography is also a way to share the beauty of the world with others who may never get to experience it in real life. The magnificent view from the top of a mountain, the contrasting colors from the bottom of a canyon, the nostalgic ride on a trolley car, the playful antics of animals. These are things we take for granted and things some people can no longer experience in their daily lives.

My mission is to capture and share the beauty of the world around us as a reminder to slow down, savor every moment, and feel happiness, joy and peace.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
For me, the creative process has always been easy and fun! I love coming up with new ideas and new ways to do things. I have found, and have heard this from other artists, that the biggest challenge is not what to create, but how to share that creativity with the world. For me, that has been very true. I’m great about coming up with exciting ideas, while I’m not so great with executing how to promote them. With the dawn of the Internet, e-commerce, websites and automation, it can be quite intimidating to someone who is not used to thinking that way. I am definitely one of those people! It has been a challenge for me to have the patience needed when learning how to blend what I do with how I do it and sharing that with the world. Our technology is so amazing, and at the same time, it can be overwhelming. I finally found a great company to partner with that has the right platform and makes it easy for me to share my images through a wonderful and interactive website that offers amazing augmented reality. This feature allows my clients to see what type of framing they want the image to have and how it will actually look in their own environments. That to me is the most impressive change in what I have to offer. If you can actually see what the art will look like in your own home, your hotel, your clinic or environment, that is a tremendous plus. Also, one of the greatest advantages to being an artist at this time is the ability to share my art with the world, not just my physical location. I love that someone in India or Africa or England or Spain can enjoy my images just as easy as someone right around the corner here in Loveland, Colorado!

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
What I love to do is capture every day moments as I move through my everyday life. What may seem to be mundane or repetitive or insignificant can become an unexpected opportunity for capturing something extraordinary, spectacular or thought provoking, something never seen before. It’s those little moments that are easily overlooked because we are in such a hurry goung from point A to point B, while missing what’s in between. Whether it’s a walk to the neighborhood grocery store, a jog around the lake path in the park, or a plane ride to a vacation spot, I always see something that captures my attention and would normally be missed if I was rushing and unaware of my surroundings. This is a constant reminder to myself to slow down and not to be stressed about every single, little thing in my life; to enjoy the quietness and the stillness of our world. It is definitely a lesson in meditation, contemplation and stillness. One of the things that sets me apart from others is my spontaneous approach to photography. I share my unique perspective of animals, nature, food, travel and architectural beauty “on the fly”, wherever I go, because I never know what I’m going to see at any given moment, depending on what I’m doing or where I am. It’s like a never ending adventure and treasure hunt. That’s the beauty of it and that’s what makes it fun! It’s unpredictable! I see a squirrel in a tree, walk slowly up to it and start talking to it, and it actually stops what it’s doing to look at me, and I capture that moment and it’s amazing! It makes me smile and laugh and that kind of joy is what I love to share.

Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
I am a risk taker. I have an outgoing personality and love the excitement from anticipating things to come. I once read somewhere that the person that fails the most, the fastest, is the person that is the most successful, because they get all the ways not to do something out of the way the quickest. Does that make sense? I’m also very persistent in my belief that if I don’t quit, I will find a way. That has been proven over and over in my life. I believe that the ability to be confident about yourself has a lot to do with how much risk you are willing to take. I’ve always been told that I can do anything I put my mind to, and that is the value that has been the driving force of my life. If you tell yourself you can do it, you usually can. If you tell yourself you’re going to fail, you usually do. I am a big believer in the power of the mind and a powerful mindset. I have been a lifelong student in the areas of Positive Thinking, the Subconscious Mind, and the power of belief in directing the right path for your own life. One of the biggest risks I’ve ever taken was to believe in myself and my ability to be succeed regardless of my circumstances or the negative thoughts or opinions of others. It took me a long time to learn that. You will never achieve anything of importance if you don’t ever risk anything important, and you miss every shot you don’t take.

Pricing:

• Depends on size and frame options

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.artbyanamaria.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anameeker
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/anamariarussomeeker