About Lea

A friend once told me that a person would be happiest in an occupation that was similar to what they loved to do between the ages of five and seven.  I loved taking photos with my Fisher Price camera, I wanted 13 babies, and I wanted to be a nurse like my auntie.  When I take that into account, I realize that perhaps I am right where I was always heading.  A photographer.  A doula (cause having 13 babies myself is just not in the cards – if it is, I better get a move on.).  And someone aspiring to midwifery.

I grew up on the Bad River reservation in northern Wisconsin and miss the trees and the water and the smell of the red clay dirt so much it hurts.  But for now – and for the past almost 16 years – my life has swirled on by in Madison.  At some point I’ll make my way home, but for now I enjoy living in a city with plenty of good food, lots of green space, and many pockets of people and families interested in building strong communities.

I’ve been doing photography professionally and practicing as a doula since 2008. I also teach childbirth classes, am a local business owner, and am a proud parent of a ten year old Waldorf kiddo.

(Thank you to the very talented Jennifer Hassrick for the above headshot.)

I am preoccupied with the art of perfecting homemade popcorn.

I cannot fall asleep at night without first reading (even if I’ve been away at a birth and have been awake for 24+ hours).  And if I don’t have my pillow I’m a sad girl.

Snuggling with my kid is my favorite-est thing to do, hands down.

I still cry at every birth I am at.  And most birth videos.  Yea – I was that girl who was crying watching my first birth video in 10th grade, when everyone else was either nervously laughing or turning green.

I was about four months away from a master’s degree in Educational Policy when the world of parenting, babies, and birth distracted me.  I miss the academic life sometimes.

Camping up on the “big lake” (Lake Superior) is my absolute favorite pastime.  Family, friends, trees, and the waves – sets my mind, heart, and spirit at ease like nothing else.

My kid and I are a little bit obsessed with watching The Voice. Actually embarrassingly obsessed might be more accurate.

I’m an accessory girl – shoes, bags, earrings, scarves, hats (the list goes on).  A majority of my clothing is second hand (one way I recycle), which means I have probably invested more money in accessories than I have clothes.

My gramma was one of the most important people in my life.  And I miss the sound of her laugh more than anything else in the world.

I love light.  I love color.  I love capturing love and emotion and real life.

I shoot Nikon – a full-frame D700. I love the low-light capabilities, particularly for births (flash is rarely a good thing when it comes to brand new babes).  I love prime lenses (the ones that require your feet to “zoom”).  I have flash equipment for when I need it but just have not come to love it – it is not my passion the way that natural light is.

I love shooting maternity, birth, babies, and families.  I do grown-up-folk headshots as well – modern, natural light shots.

I am a self-taught photographer, but credit local photographers – both professional (Jennifer Hassrick in particular – who taught a great “Photographing Your Babe and Child” class at Happy Bambino long long ago) and the Madison community on Flickr; as well as numerous online photography communities and learning sites as the sources of the self-teaching.  I also have to give a huge nod to my mother and aunties who let me play-play-play with their film SLRs at pow-wows as a kiddo.

It makes me giggle to think of how to follow up with the equivalent of photo specs.  As in, what is in my doula bag of tricks.  Ummm.  Well – honey sticks (for tired moms); chapstick and massage oil (again, for moms); a water bottle, tea, nuts, and fruit (for me), and maybe a change of clothes (again, for me).  Perhaps a copy of The Labor Progress Handbook and Heart and Hands.  Being a doula relies very little on the “stuff”.  What I bring to a birth that is most instrumental is my voice, my hands, and my noggin.  And the phone numbers of fellow doulas and area midwives just in case I feel like I need more info or support.

I enjoy working with families who prefer to be well-informed.  I am a evidence-based sort of decision-maker and tend to work best with families who seek out research and make their decisions with an eye to thinking about the big picture.  If you ask me what motivates me as a doula it is about the opportunity to help families to empower themselves as they journey forward.

And as for qualifications, I am not a certified doula.  <GASP.>

But I did take the most amazing DONA-certified doula training here in Madison a couple of years ago.  I have also networked with the Madison birth community and am thankful to be in such a center for natural birth knowledge.  I was going to get certified, and somehow the paperwork has just always ended up at the bottom of the to-do list; and since getting clients hasn’t seemed to have been hindered by the lack of certification, well.  Someday.