International Womens Day 2021

*originally posted to instagram on 3/8/2021

HAPPY INTERNATIONAL WOMENS DAY!!!

I love this day. Theres so much to celebrate when it comes to the accomplistments of women but there are also a lot of women’s issues that are important and need recognition. Today I’m focusing on closing the #genderpaygap because equality is important and its v important in the workplace! Side note: I imagine this image to the tune of “Bitch Better Have My Money” by Rihanna.
So the gender pay gap is an issue that women have been fighting against for decades & yet not much has changed. On average a woman is paid 0.82cents in comparison to a man earning $1. That means the average female worker loses more than $530,000 over the course of her lifetime. I can’t even imagine having that much money, let alone losing out on that much money during my lifetime! And don’t get me started on how pay isn’t even equal among women! Women of every race & ethnicity make less than their male counterparts- but Black, Hispanic and Native American women experience some of the biggest pay gaps. How are some of the most marginalized groups of women who have some of the toughest hurdles placed in front of them by our society, going to get paid the least... they not only have to get over those societal hurdles that most people don’t even have to deal with in their lifetimes, but then they are expected to perform the same, if not better, as their coworkers and still get paid less?! Also add in a pandemic on top of the prevalent #wagegap & it’s terrifying to think about the long term effect this is all going to have on us if change doesn’t happen. I’m just trying to be able to retire someday, damn! At the rate we were going pre-covid it was going to take over 208 years to close the economic gender pay gap. TWO HUNDRED EIGHT YEARS PRE PANDEMIC! And initial evidence is showing that the socio-economic implications of COVID-19 are impacting women disproportionately, and it’s too early to tell how many more years this has set women back to getting equal pay. We need change and we need it NOW, not in 200+ years.
If you’re interested in learning more theres some amazing well researched resources out there! #iwd2021

& if you want to support me, a female artist you can purchase prints and more at this link!

Equal Pay for Equal Work. It’s as simple as that.

Back to Basics

Over the last couple of weeks I have taken a step back to focus on basic lighting practices. Working with no more than two lights and a reflector on this shoot, I wanted to remove all other elements from the equation to create a sleek look using a simplified set up in my studio. This was the result.

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Thank you

After taking some time to step away from the camera, clear my head and get back to a mental state that wasn’t reflective of post grad depression, I’ve finally started shooting and creating again, and god it feels SO GOOD!

It killed me to not pick up my camera every time I had an idea, but I knew I would be gaining more by giving myself a break (and a couple breakdowns) than what I would have lost had I continued to force myself to shoot. Going from being surrounded by a community of artists every day to bounce ideas off of and receive critiques, to no longer having that circling me on a daily basis, hurtled me into a confusing mental spiral faster than anything I’ve ever experienced before.

I once had a professor that would take long term sabbaticals every five or so years for up to two years at a time. I used to think that was crazy because how could an artist allow themselves to not create? But once explained, I learned It’s not that they weren’t creating work during those sabbaticals, but rather they were creating things without any expectation to be producing “good work” whatsoever. A few years later and I finally understand what they were saying. It’s ok to give ourselves a break. It’s ok to pause and be still for as long as we need to be. It’s ok to say no to projects that are presented to us if we choose because only we know how we’re feeling on the inside.

4 years of constant stress and project deadlines can really wear a person down. I am fortunate enough to be surrounded by an amazing group of friends and family who did not question my decision to take a step back. Thank you to those people who listened to me rant and vent for hours, who held me up and continued to support me during this break and who have continued to believe in me when I started to doubt myself and my skills. Y’all are the real MVPs and I love and appreciate each and every one of you! Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! I hope you all find and feel those connections with the ones in your lives the way Michelangelo’s “The Creation of Adam” reminds me of the love and support I’ve felt from all of you! I’m so excited to start this new chapter and I’m more than ready to be back!

-Erika

Shaping Light

I have a fascination with shaping light and controlling it to do different things. This is a practice I apply in many of my shoots. The photos you see here are a result of different ways I have manipulated off camera TTL flashes to be a separate entity in my photographs.

Model: Kendall Gassen

Check out her website!