My Life is Ridiculous and here is why

I moved back into my hurricane ravaged house in May after spending 5 months living out of a suitcase.  I AM SO FRIGGING HAPPY TO BE BACK IN MY HOUSE!  Leaking roof?  Don't care.  Porch blown off into the yard?  Don't care.  Mongooses climbing in through open windows eating all the cat food?  Don't care.  Giant cracks in the walls?  Again, just couldn't care.  My sweet little house sits high atop a hill with outrageous views of St. Thomas, St. John, Tortola, & Buck Island.  It belonged to my grandparents who built it in the 1940's.  Over the years various hurricanes have tried to blow her down, some have come close but we repair, rebuild and hope for the best.  Just like people whose entire town gets blown away by a tornado in the Midwest. As soon as the winds die down hey climb up out of their hidey holes, dust themselves off and hope another tornado doesn't come again.  Stupid?  Definitely.  Yes, their town is now a mish mash full of broken stuff, but it's THEIR broken stuff, so they stay no matter what.  This island I was born on tops my personal list of  totally ridiculous places to live, what with our lunar landscape'esque roadways, left hand driving in right hand driving vehicles,  local government that often leaves you saying "Wait.  They did what?", West Indian people who are naturally kind of shy but come across as completely rude to the unknowing person...I could go on and on HOWEVER I can guarantee you if you visit here, you will never, never, ever want to leave despite all the brokenness, potholes, shy/rude locals.  And hurricanes.  Did I mention hurricanes?  I just saw somewhere that there are five (count them!) weather systems rolling off the coast of Africa.  This is a dicey time of year and with September being the most bestest month for hurricanes ever, I'm just so pleased it is only 2 days away.   There is just something magical and other-worldly about this tiny island that allows us to shrug off situations that would drive the average person stark-raving mad.  Is it the rum?  The beach?  The people, an amazing bunch of love able misfits, constantly running around in circles, searching for the Ringmaster.

Sometimes there just isn't enough time in the day to get it all done.


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I've got a lot of catching up to do

My associate has turned two and is still excited to see me everyday which thrills me to no end.  He pushes the door of my room over with a giant shove, his eyes bouncing from one object to the next (keep in mind my room is my studio so picture paints, masks, cameras, paper, canvases SO MUCH TO TOUCH) his little hands flexing and unflexing with excitement.  The first thing he does is walk over to my easel and remove anything I may have placed on the low shelf (small toys, rubber stamps).  He places them all on the floor one by one.  Then he goes under the bed to get my box of rocks and shells from the islands - and takes each one placing them in a group on the floor, all the while having a one-sided conversation in a language only he understands.  I just sit and watch.  

I have just started working on a new project - very exciting I just hope I can pull it off!  I've kept art journals for years so I'm trying to create a book of them - the type of book I'd like to read myself!  I love reading other people's art journals, don't you?  It's a daunting task and I get easily overwhelmed like pull the covers over your head anxiety attack...so I'm just going to keep plugging at it in little bits and fits.

Stay tuned!

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Meet my associate

This chunky little nugget is the light of my life, he reminds me so much of his daddy when he was a baby.  He has the BESTEST most laid back personality (teething aside naturally).  I tell his parents (his handlers) all the time how easy t…

This chunky little nugget is the light of my life, he reminds me so much of his daddy when he was a baby.  He has the BESTEST most laid back personality (teething aside naturally).  I tell his parents (his handlers) all the time how easy they have it...what other toddler squeals with DELIGHT when it's bedtime, claps his hands, runs to his room and once you've put him in his crib with a good night kiss, covers his head with a blanket and calls it a night?  FOR THE WHOLE NIGHT?  I have settled into my role as grandmother as though every moment in my life was leading up to this.  Because I work for myself now I get to spend way more time with him than I ever did with my own children, I went back to work when they were a wee 6 weeks old, so I missed a lot but they had the best nannies the Virgin Islands had to offer at the time and for that I will always be grateful.

I adore him at this age (almost 2), he loves Curious George, music - all music but I did have him dancing to some Bluegrass the other day, stacking blocks and, this is exciting, likes his new, shiny, blue soccer ball.  However I cannot wait for him to be just a bit older and way more excited about posing for photos - the costumes I have in mind for him!  The masks!  

I'm just so lucky to have him in my life.

Embracing Birth Photography

Hello and welcome to the new, snazzy version of schoyer.com!!!  This is still a bit of a work in progress, I'll be adding lots more posts and photos as I go along - I am so glad you are here!

After I moved to the states from the islands, I spent a great deal of time thinking about what direction I wanted to take my photography in.  I had left behind a successful wedding, lifestyle family, maternity and fine art photography business.  Back on the island I was well known and respected , but was now in unchartered waters...My decision to dive into the exciting field of birth photography hit me like a lightening bolt!  This was a market that was just beginning to take off and one that I was already quite passionate about.  I have always strived to make images that evoke emotion and I knew my birth photographs would do just that!  The first thing I did was join the International Association of Professional Birth Photographers (birth photographers.com), connect via social media with others in this field and was super excited to get started!

Before I knew it I had booked two births, one cesarean and one natural - perfect as they were 2 weeks apart.  I was off and running!  I was thrilled as I knew from years in the business I had the technical skills and equipment to provide quality images plus I had once been a licensed Emergency Medical Technician so I knew from experience being present at a cesarean (or any kind of birth) would not phase me or throw me off my game.  And I was right!  The images from the cesarean are AMAZING.  The room was quite small so I was right on top of the action but did my best to get great shots without being in any of the medical team's way.  The momma was thrilled when she saw what I had captured, she said I caught everything she missed and was so grateful!

However I learned right away how much birthing can be unpredictable as I was just finishing up the post cesarean photoshoot when I got a text from Mama #2 saying she was in the hospital and already at 7cm - all the way in another town!  I quickly wrapped up that shoot, jumped in my car and headed to her hospital.  Thankfully I was totally prepared for this, having packed extra memory cards, camera batteries AND food!  I arrived at the hospital and six hours later her sweet little girl was born!

As I drove home that night I was absolutely buzzing with excitement - I knew I had found my niche and couldn't WAIT to book my next birth!