Photographer Jennifer Schafer
"Jennifer Schafer Waves Goodbye" © 2009 Miriam A. Kilmer
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Always on the prowl for a beautiful scene to capture, Jennifer Schafer takes her camera with her everywhere.
If she has been there, then somewhere there is a photograph that can take her back. In Bethesda, Maryland, in 1987, the birth of Jennifer Lynn Schafer
(née Hillis) adorned her family with a second daughter; she is one of four sisters. Her passion for photography was kindled at a young age:
every year each of the girls received a neatly packaged disposable camera under the Christmas tree. Their photos were tucked into albums, which
quickly consumed an entire wall of their home. Jennifer adopted her mother's appreciation of photo albums and took over the creation of family
albums in her late teens when her mother was too busy. When she graduated from a disposable camera to a Nikon point-and-shoot, and finally a
digital SLR camera, her pictures were no longer limited by the plastic pages and binding of a book; she could now create digital albums to share with everyone.
In 2005, Jennifer enrolled at the college of Wooster and a beautiful new world unfolded before her camera lens.
It was in her junior year of college, however, that she had an epiphany: political science, her declared major and nagging nemesis, did not fulfill her.
She found her way back to her lifelong love, and decided to leave the College of Wooster to study photography in Maryland.
Jennifer took classes in black and white film photography and digital photography in 2008 at Montgomery College in
Rockville, MD. That year she sold her first professional photos of a friend's wedding. Since then, she has done two more weddings, a few
portrait shoots and has covered several gigs for local bands including Band of Brothers and her husband's band, The Brian Farley Band.
She did a portrait shoot for the Brian Farley Band in 2010 to provide cover art for their CD and website.
Jennifer is now the Southeast Regional Manager of Photogenic, Inc, based out of Charleston, SC. She started as a staff photographer in 2010,
snapping photos of grinning tourists as they boarded dining cruises at the Inner Harbor in Baltimore. While she loves her day job and all that it can teach her,
her heart will always lie with freelance photography, particularly portraits and cityscapes.
Jennifer Lynn Schafer has come a long way from disposable cameras to city manager for a souvenir photography company and Junior Partner to her great-aunt, Miriam Kilmer,
at Rising Dove Fine Arts and Services. At just 23, her lifelong dream was given shape. Thank goodness for epiphanies.
- by Crystal Hardman
Jennifer Schafer says:
Besides photographing, I also love to dance, listen to music, read, do jigsaw puzzles and
crosswords, and spend time with friends and family. I indulge myself with peppermint mochas and spontaneous adventures.
Artist's Statement
Although I have been taking photos
since I was old enough to hold a camera
steady (or not so steady), I didn't start thinking of it as an art form
until my first photography class in early 2007. My attachment to this
medium has two main sources. In part, I am driven by an insatiable desire
to preserve the moments of this beautiful life. There is something
breathtaking about every aspect of this universe and the mere existence of
life never ceases to amaze me. My penchant for seeking out the beauty
around me and for savoring each moment dovetails very nicely with
photography.
I am drawn most strongly to candid photography because I want
to capture nature and its creatures as they are. However, my fascination
with light and shadows lends itself well to studio work. I enjoy
manipulating light to express the character of my subjects, and am always
happy to set up portrait sessions with new clients.
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