We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kelly Fischer a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Kelly thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What do you think it takes to be successful?
What a golden question! It takes thought, grit, knowledge, determination, adaptation, goals, creativity, optimism, and time. Success is only in the mind of the beholder. For me, I feel the most success when I feel happy. Every time I am outside hiking or traveling, taking photos, visiting friends or family, working on my art or education, or even just enjoying being comfortable at home, I feel successful. There is great happiness when I spend my time exactly how I want to spend it. I also feel the joy of success when I accomplish a goal. That could be a sale, a conversation with someone that admires my art, a new gallery, a finished video for marketing, creating a blog or newsletter, or simply posting a photo online to share with my followers.
Education-should be a life-long pursuit of knowledge and can lead to success. Never stop learning. Read books and articles, listen to podcasts, talk to wise people, take classes. The world will be a better place when everyone understands and appreciates the power of knowledge. You’ll never waste a second improving yourself.
Grit, determination, confidence, perseverance, flexibility, resilience; however you want to say this, it is imperative. Things might not go the way you envisioned, things will go wrong, life will get in the way and try to derail you. You must be optimistic and keep pushing through because you are the one writing your story…how do you want it to be?
True success is being happy, healthy, and staying true to yourself and your purpose.
Time. Good things take time.
Kelly, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
Some of my biggest passions are traveling, hiking, and photographing the beauty that I see. I want to inspire others to really feel the essence of the places I photograph and share the desire to experience the beauty of nature too.
After moving to northern Arizona and realizing my love for the outdoors, I began to document the places I went on social media and created personal photo books of my best captures. A decade or so later, I kept hearing from followers and friends about how much my photos were appreciated so I decided to turn my hobby into something more. With the creation of Kelly Fischer Photography, I am able to provide more meaningful ways to share my passions with the world. I created a website with several galleries of my favorite captures that I can add to and change as I travel and hike. Anyone that wants to enjoy my photos can scroll through and bring them into their home by purchasing prints, canvas, wood panels, etc. directly from the site. The website is also home to blogs that I create as I journey through this beautiful and exciting world and share my experiences and thoughts along with my photographs. I am constantly coming up with creative ways to share my photography. Recently, I started selling landscape notecards. These are the first of many items I intend to add to my online shop.
I also create email newsletters that offer more personal information about my whereabouts, ideas, thoughts, accomplishments, future plans, etc. It’s a fun way to share more with people that really support and appreciate me and my passions. They can include information on hiking, camping, traveling, items that I use and love in the outdoors, helpful resources, or specific information/topics that were requested. It’s also where I like to share news about new photo releases, new items in my store, offer discounts, and create a community with like-minded friends. I am always open to new ideas and will continue to expand as the creativity flows.
What sets me apart from many other landscape photographers is my authenticity. I photograph my journeys, what I feel is beautiful, and I often put my own artistic glitter on my creations. I can’t take credit for the nature that is out there, but I try really hard to capture it in a way that preserves that essence (the feelings/emotions) that might invite others to feel like they are there too or make them want to go and experience it first hand. A picture can say a thousand words but I hope that my photos share joy, beauty, an experience, a lesson, feelings of wonder and hope, and offer a lifetime of enjoyment.
I am proud that I continue to do what I love and make sure to stay true to myself on my journey. I am always learning and I feel like that makes me my best self. I am proud to remain optimistic in a world that is not. I am proud to be able to take on challenging things and not give up. I am proud to be loved and supported by friends and family. Mostly, I am proud when I can inspire others to live their best lives, do what they love, and spread their joy to others too.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
It is really rewarding when I have a finished product that I am proud of and that others can appreciate too. I recently took a painting class to learn a new style of painting. It was more of a free/ loose style of painting that I was not familiar with so it was a risk because I wasn’t sure if I would like it or be good at it. It was taught via live stream on Facebook with thousands of other people. It was really fun to be a part of a community of other artists and creatives that also had their doubts but had the courage as well to try something new and keep at it until we finished. Communicating with each other through the chats and sharing our struggles, asking questions, and sharing our final paintings was a rewarding experience. Seeing how everyone was able to create something they were proud of, even though the paintings were all so different was really fun to see. It was so inspiring to me to get back into something I had put on the back-burner for a while and it turns out, I enjoyed the process and I was proud of the paintings I made. It made me think about how I can encourage others to take leaps in their lives and do things that make them happy, feel inspired, and be proud too.
After a hike or a trip when I go through all my pictures to select the ones I like the most, I feel really excited. Not only do I get to relive those amazing moments, but now I get to share them with people that will also enjoy them. Posting them on social media with motivational quotes or fun anecdotes allows me to connect with people through my images. Using my pictures to help me create blog posts and newsletters are fun ways for me to create meaning through something I already enjoy so much. Experiencing something alone can be fun and worthwhile but I have found that it is even better when memories are shared.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
I decided to change careers at the end of my thirteenth year of teaching. I always enjoyed school, had great respect for my teachers, and I knew that education was important my entire life. Becoming a teacher was an easy choice as I finished high school and I enjoyed my college experience immensely. My first several years in the classroom were expectedly challenging as I learned SO much but I truly felt like I was exactly where I was supposed to be and I received good feedback with how I was doing. I knew in my heart that I was making a positive difference through helping kids and I felt really proud of my purpose as a teacher. I really enjoyed teaching every day…it was everything else that made me leave the classroom.
Over the last few years of my career the culture of education began to transform negatively and dramatically. I was completely exhausted at the end of every day and I no longer wanted to carry the burdens of a failing society on my shoulders. Continuing to trade my abundance of joy and optimism for anxiety and stress was not a fair deal and the impossible demands on teachers kept increasing. I decided that I could once again be my best self in a more self-controlled environment where I could continue my creative endeavors and let my spirit shine in other ways. I knew it would be hard to find another career that would feel as significant as teaching children but I knew that I would find something that was meant for me in this new chapter of my life. I decided to start taking courses in graphic design and photography, and learn more about social media marketing. Working and learning from home (or any space I choose) is turning out to be a really positive experience for me and I am enjoying learning new things every day.
It’s important to me that I speak to the fact that people can have multiple passions in life and can pursue several avenues that allow us to honor our capabilities and achieve goals without sacrificing our health or personal ideologies. Some people might not know exactly what it is they are “meant” to do but they can certainly discover meaningful ways to live their lives that allow them happiness and success. Everyone should be trying new things, joining communities of people with shared interests, and continuing to learn about the world and yourself; never stop growing. Any step forward is progress and I believe that it is SO important that people really try to live their best lives now so we can all be better for each other and ourselves tomorrow. It is always a good time to get happier, healthier, and be proud of what we accomplish. As long as you are alive, it is never too late to make positive changes in your life.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.kellyfischerphotography.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kellyfischerphotography/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kellyfischerphotography
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelly-fischer-a60163304/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZUjq26duU-g93cdIHNmdJw
- Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@kellyfischerphotography
Image Credits
Kelly Fischer Photography