About Me

Thanks for popping by! My name is Kristie, the face behind (and sometimes in the photos if I can coax my husband to snap a picture of me).

If you have taken the time to check out my site, you will see my growing love for photography. Photography for me started by fluke. Prior to five years ago, I never quite appreciated the amount of skill, creativity, and dedication that it took to be a photographer, or to be, in my opinion, any good at it. One of my cousin’s, the very talented Amara Dirks, asked if I would be interested in hosting a photography workshop at my house for some of her clients wanting to learn more about photography. Having a very entry level DSLR camera set up that I had never set to anything other than automatic mode, I agreed, hoping to learn a bit more about how to work that hunk of plastic and metal. In the afternoon we spent together, I truly began to appreciate the art of digital photography – and my outwardly clear lack of knowledge and skill. For anyone of you that know me, not picking up on things quickly drove me insane! I became obsessed, carrying my camera with me everywhere, trying different angles and settings, purchasing better and better equipment, photographing anything I could without being told to stop acting like the paparazzi. I spent hours tirelessly working on editing them until I was satisfied with what I had been able to capture. And that, is how I find myself here telling you about me today – my love for one of the most challenging skills that I will never master. My appreciation has grown from something I thought I could tackle in a relatively quick timeframe, to something that I now know I never will, but will continue to grow and improve as my style, skill, knowledge, and experience flourishes.

Professionally, ten years ago I graduated from Grant MacEwan University as a registered nurse. Always looking for my next challenge, I went back to school to pursue further education, and three years ago I graduated with a Master Degree of Nursing. Currently, I work in an adult intensive care unit as a nurse practitioner in the greater Edmonton area.

On a more personal level, I can only best describe myself as eccentric. I am a highly driven, always on the move, love to laugh and be outdoors, and never shy away from any challenge. I was born and raised on a farm in northern Alberta, alongside my parents, sister, and brother. My family is nothing shy of the best time, always hilarious, wildly motivated, and intensely creative. To me, family is my everything, and it is a good thing because I have a big one! I love making all kinds of exotic soups and could never get enough truffle salt popcorn, baseball of pretty much any sort, any activity that puts me near or in a body of water and basically all things that come from my grandparents era. It is a toss up which sound I love more – the sound of an acoustic guitar (especially around a campfire), pouring rain off a tin roof, or the isolated sound of skate blades gliding across ice. I am often described as loud, a little too black and white at times, and am drawn to anyone with a great sense of humour.  Everyday I am thankful to be married to the most genuine, patient (a department I struggle with), and loving husband, Cole, who challenges me to be better in ways he probably doesn’t even know. I am the proudest mother to my whole world, my baby boy, Casey. He just recently turned one and I can unapologetically say that parenthood has been, without a doubt, the most challenging, utterly exhausting, but absolute best year of my life so far. We live in Spruce Grove, Alberta with our twelve year old dog, Kaiah, who looks more like a permanent puppy than the geriatric canine that she is.

If you want to take a peek into snippets of my life through my photography, peruse over to my facebook, instagram, or twitter account and add me as a friend. Please do not hesitate to drop me a line! I look forward to meeting you and hearing your story!