Having vision through the demolition

My Dad and Brother are artists. Not the kind of artist you’re probably thinking. They are both gifted home builders, but some of their greatest “masterpieces” have been in their restoration projects of historic homes.

Ben and I are lucky enough to own one of their latest restored homes. But if you don’t have “vision” to see a finished product, at first glance these homes might seem like a total lost cause.

When we decided to move to Cache Valley last year, we visited a few times in house hunting trips. Dad and Jesse were in the midst of the demolition stage of our house (though we didn’t know at the time we would buy it). Walking through it during that stage takes A LOT of faith and vision. Decades of neglect sometimes stain the walls, poor floor planning creates some awkwardness, and there is usually a creative home improvement attempt by a previous home owner high on ambition and low on skills. It’s dirty. Dusty. And completely out of fashion.

I knew I wanted our house the moment I saw it. In its yucky demo stage and all. Ben was not so convinced. Actually, he was beyond convinced. Why would you want a dump?!

Having grown up seeing the finished products of my dads skilled hands and most of all, his “vision”, gave me plenty of faith that what would soon result would be a creation of character, charm, and elegance. Months later after visiting ten homes with our realitor, feeling slightly discouraged at what was available on the market in our price range, we stopped in for a visit with my Dad and brother. Only now, the house was nearly completed and in Ben’s mind, “completely transformed”.

Having vision is an essential quality of any artist.

Sometimes it might seem that all we have to work with might be a piece of junk.

Maybe we have an outdated camera and a cheap lens. Perhaps our subjects might consist only of our own kids who might be uncooperative with the nagging photographer in the home. Maybe we spend too much time on other photography sites that have bigger budgets and unconsciously compare our own lack of resources. Perhaps our confidence is in the demolition stage and we need to rebuild and restore our spirits to their original beauty.

But you know what? Miracles can happen when you have vision and a dash of creativity. You can transform the mundane into the majestic, the junk into art, the low budget into high yielding tools, and even restore beauty in ourselves when others may have thought it was lost for good.

Vision + Creativity = Transformation

I talk a lot about both vision and creativity in my advanced class. To be sure, my work completely changed (in a monumental way) when I started to seek for both.

What is your vision? How do you use vision and creativity to transform what you are working with?

Dad and Jesse are now using their vision on another home in Hyde Park.  (It’s for sale!!)  It’s currently in the demolition stage.  As I walked through I caught some vision.  I wanted to preserve some moments of the demolition stage in an artistic setting.  Thanks to my fabulous friends Helga for modeling and Sarah for assisting.








avatarBrooke Snow is a Lifestyle photographer in Cache Valley, Utah. She is a proud new mother to a perfect baby boy. During the day she uses her BM and MM in Music Composition to write silly songs to make small people smile and laugh. During the nights and select mornings Brooke teaches private photography lessons as well as monthly photography classes in Logan, Utah. During the weekend she dreams up crazy and fun photo shoots for her fabulous subjects. Brooke welcomes comments, questions, new friendships, new clients, and new coats and hats for her growing collection.

8 Responses

  1. I love the last pic! Helga, if you read this, you are beautiful! I also love that green door! Beautiful work Brooke. I love your writing as well. I think that having vision is an essential quality for happiness. When we have direction, goals, something to work towards, we are a happier people. As we reach those goals, we see progression. And isn’t that what life’s about? Progressing forward? Helping others to progress forward too? Being better than we were the day before?

    I think so.

    And, it all starts with vision. 🙂

  2. This is a pretty profound post with plenty for me to think about in my own life. Thanks Brooke, I love your writing and pictures and how you take an old half transformed house and make it into a jazzy backdrop for beautiful shots of your friend.

  3. Great photos, Brooke! I am really impressed. And so fun to see Helga – we used to work together at a doctors office. She is so cute & fun. We sure miss her. What a fun surprise to see her on your site!

  4. Brooke thank you, THANK YOU for this!! I often find myself discouraged at my lack of experience or knowledge and it stops me from getting out there and practing and progressing. But I know I just need to work hard and learn, and this post has given me a little push to continue doing so. Thanks! And Helga, you are as beautiful as always!

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