Back Home in Pennsylvania: A Photography + Business Update

It’s been a while since I’ve written anything here. Like… a while.

The last couple of years have brought a lot of change, both personally and creatively, and somewhere along the way this little corner of my website became pretty quiet. I never stopped taking photos or working as a photographer, but I definitely stopped sharing as much of what I was doing outside of social media.

So, I figured it was probably time for an update.

I moved back home to Pennsylvania

One of the biggest changes is that I’m officially back home in Central Pennsylvania.

After spending about 9 years living and working in Los Angeles, moving back to PA has been a pretty major shift. I'm now based in Central Pennsylvania and spending a lot more time photographing the places, people, small towns, businesses, and landscapes around me.

Honestly, being back here has changed the way I've been taking pictures. And I’ve been a lot happier overall, too!

I've found myself carrying my camera around a lot more just for the sake of taking photos — wandering around towns, pulling over when the light looks good, photographing old buildings and signs, exploring places I haven't been to in years, and generally paying more attention to the things around me.

Which has led me into a few new directions.

I've been photographing a lot more people

Portrait photography has become a much bigger part of my work recently, and I'm officially offering portrait sessions throughout Central Pennsylvania, including Altoona, Hollidaysburg, State College, Huntingdon, Bedford, and the surrounding areas.

I'm photographing seniors, couples, families, engagements, creative portraits, events, and pretty much anything that gives me an excuse to take my camera somewhere interesting and photograph people.

I've also been having a lot of fun finding locations that aren't necessarily the first places you'd think of for a photoshoot — arcades, downtown streets, parking garages, fields, old buildings, little corners of towns, and wherever else happens to have good light or an interesting feeling.

My commercial work has always made me think a lot about color, composition, styling, locations, and storytelling, and I've really enjoyed bringing some of that same creative approach into portraiture.

So yes — if you've followed my work for years and suddenly you're seeing a lot more humans on your screen, that's why.

If you've been thinking about updating your family photos, celebrating your senior year, planning an engagement session, or just want an excuse to make some really fun portraits together, I'm currently booking portrait sessions throughout Central Pennsylvania.

I've also fallen in love with street photography

This has probably been one of the biggest creative shifts for me.

I've been spending more time walking around with my camera without necessarily having a plan for what I'm going to photograph.

Storefronts. Old signs. Empty parking lots. Houses at blue hour. Neon lights. Strange little details. People passing by. Places I've driven past a thousand times and somehow never really looked at before.

It's been really nice to make photographs without a client, shot list, or deadline attached to them.

And somewhere in the middle of all of that, a larger project started taking shape.

Places That Feel Like Memories

I've started an ongoing personal photography series called Places That Feel Like Memories.

The series grew out of something I've always been drawn to — places that somehow feel nostalgic even when you can't completely explain why.

Sometimes they're places from my own past. Other times they're places I've never been before that somehow feel familiar anyway.

Empty malls. Arcades. Small towns. Old storefronts. Football fields. Fluorescent lights. Glowing windows at blue hour. Places that feel like they're caught somewhere between what they are now and what they used to be.

I've been thinking a lot about nostalgia, memory, home, and how differently we see familiar places as we get older.

Coming back to Pennsylvania has given me a completely different perspective on places I used to pass every day without thinking twice about them. Photography has become a way for me to revisit some of those places, document them as they are now, and pay attention to the things I probably would've overlooked before.

You'll be seeing a lot more from Places That Feel Like Memories here.

I started shooting on film!

Yes, I finally caught the film bug. I’ve been really enjoying the process of exploring this new medium and all of the different kinds of film. I plan to offer film portraits as part of my photography services soon - stay tuned!

And… I'm opening a print shop!

This is something I've wanted to do for a long time.

As I've started creating more personal work again, I've also started thinking more seriously about what happens to those photographs after I make them.

Instead of letting them live forever on Instagram or buried somewhere on a hard drive, I want some of them to actually exist as physical photographs.

So I'm working on opening a print shop featuring a selection of my landscape, travel, street, and fine art photography.

I'll be sharing more about that soon, including new photographs and collections as they're added.

Commercial photography isn't going anywhere

With all of these new things happening, I also want to make one thing very clear: I'm still doing commercial photography!

Product and food photography have been a huge part of my career, and I'm continuing to work with brands, agencies, restaurants, and businesses.

Some projects are photographed remotely from my studio, where clients can ship products directly to me. I'm also available for on-location commercial photography with businesses here in Central Pennsylvania, and I continue to travel for projects as well.

Product photography, food photography, lifestyle imagery, stop motion, prop styling, restaurant photography, branding content — all of that is still very much part of what I do.

My work is just expanding.

If you're a brand, restaurant, small business, or agency looking for new imagery, I'm currently booking commercial projects both locally and remotely, and I'm available to travel for the right project.

So… what's next?

Probably a little bit of everything.

More portraits.

More wandering around Pennsylvania with my camera.

More street photography.

More Places That Feel Like Memories.

More commercial shoots and behind-the-scenes work.

More traveling.

More prints.

And hopefully, a lot more posts here.

I want this blog to become a place where I can share more than the handful of images that make it onto social media — full photo series, stories behind shoots, places I've explored, behind-the-scenes looks at commercial projects, portrait sessions, travel photography, and whatever else I happen to be working on.

It feels a little bit like I'm entering a new chapter of my photography career. Not necessarily leaving the old one behind, but making room for all of the other things I've become interested in photographing along the way.

If you've been following my work for years, thank you for sticking around through the quiet periods and all of the changes.

And if you just found me — hi! You showed up at a pretty good time.

There's a lot more coming.

Looking for photography? Explore my portrait sessions, browse my commercial work, or follow along on Instagram to see what I'm photographing next.

-Clare :)