Community Corner

Hartland Photographer Puts Aside Her Fears to Get the Shot

Sherri Yezbick-Taylor posts daily photos on Patch.

Sherri Yezbick-Taylor has a knack for creativity. Whether she's using her hands to design a piece of jewelry or to hold a camera to capture that perfect photo, she enjoys seeing the smiles on people's faces after they see what she's created.

Like many others, her career choices shifted while in college. First wanting to be a doctor and then having an interest in biological research, her dream job was being a photographer for National Geographic.

After majoring in art and biology at Kalamazoo College, she ended up owning a document company, but the passion for photography never left her. And now, the Hartland woman has once again picked up her camera and owns and operates Sherri Yezbick-Taylor Photography.

She also shares daily photos on her blog, Captured Thoughts for the Day.

Patch recently spent a few minutes chatting with Yezbick-Taylor about her blog and why people should check it out.

Tell us about your blog and what it's all about. Most of us wake up to the news with our morning coffee, and there is just so much tragedy. I like to see and capture a positive, different view of life with my photography. So I thought it might be nice to put one of my shots up along with a short, inspirational quote and comment to brighten up the start of our days! Although my husband and I are relatively new to the area, we have grown to love it here, and I hope to show my appreciation for the great community we have here, as well as the great state of Michigan.

What's the story behind how it came to be? Nothing exciting, unfortunately! I have a Facebook page for my photography where I was posting photos along with quotes and what I call “fun facts,” and Hartland Patch editor Tatum Ryan thought it might be a good idea to for me to do a blog on the Patch site, using the same format.

What's been your favorite blog post? I guess they are all my favorites; I just hope that people enjoy them as much as I enjoy posting them!

Why should people read your blog? Maybe just to get an uplifting start to the day, or at the very least, a laugh!

Can you elaborate on how you choose what you shoot. Do you go out looking for something particular or do you just shoot whatever you find? Spontaneity is my program! I don't really have a method or plan for getting photographs. I find that my most successful photographs come about when I least expect it. I love shooting nature, water, weather and people whenever and however I find them! A lot depends on my mood, too. My camera goes everywhere with me, so I am always prepared for any opportunities.

Have you ever captured something that really surprised you or stood out as one of those great finds you'd never expect? During a storm up north over the summer, I surprised myself by capturing some crazy lightning shots. Bear in mind that I am deathly afraid of storms, so I really had to come out of my box to photograph these lightning strikes. Trust me, some of them came out blurry as I was tripping over my tripod in my haste to get back into shelter! There are some shots in my blog.

As an icebreaker, whenever someone is hired at Patch, they have to reveal their first concert and their most embarrassing song on their iPod. So, what's yours? The first concert I ever went to was Loverboy (!!) and the most embarrassing song…(hmm, there are so many)…not sure I want to go there!!

To be notified of her future blog posts, click "Get email updates" at the top of Sherri's blog.

If you have an interest you want to blog about, it's super easy to get started! Just head to our main blogging page where you can create a blog. You'll be asked three things: to name your blog, to write a short description of the blog and then to upload a thumbnail to appear on the account. Once you hit the create button, you'll be on your way to making your first blog post.

Any questions? Email Patch Community Editor Jason Alley at jason.alley@patch.com.


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