“Home isn’t always a house. Sometimes it’s a horizon you’ve been watching your whole life.”
Some landscapes don’t just live in the background of our lives, they shape the way we see the world.
For many photographers, the places we grow up become our first teachers. Long before we understand light, composition, or storytelling, we’re simply learning to notice.
The colors that shift at sunset, the way storms roll in, the quiet moments that make a place feel like home.
For Charla Fenn, it was the desert.
The mountains she grew up beside weren’t just scenery, they were part of her childhood, her faith, and the way she learned to observe the world around her.
Years later, with a camera in hand, she returned to the same landscapes that raised her… and realized she had been learning how to see them all along.
This is her story.
Where It All Began
I grew up near the Superstition Mountains in Arizona. We always just called them the “Supers,” and even though friends used to joke that I lived “out in the boondocks,” I was always grateful.
It wasn’t far from town, but it felt like freedom. Some of my earliest memories are sitting on my dad’s lap after church on Sundays, steering the truck through desert trails with the Supers rising steady in the distance.
We built forts in the desert, rode quads, and slid down dusty foothills on old real estate signs. Desert storms weren’t something we avoided; they were something we waited for.
Finding Something Sacred
Even as a child, I felt something sacred out there. I didn’t have the language for it at the time, but I remember feeling close to my Creator in the quiet of the desert. Small in the best way, but somehow held. Back then, it felt like wonder.
Learning How to See
My mom was the one who taught me to slow down and notice. On hikes, she would stop and say, “Look at the mountain right now; see how it’s purple?” Later, as the sun dropped lower, she’d point again when the rock turned deep red, almost glowing.
She showed me that the Supers were never just one color. They were constantly changing; you just had to pay attention. Looking back, I realize the desert was teaching me how to see long before I ever owned a camera.
As a kid, the desert felt like freedom. As an adult, it feels like reverence.
Returning to the Supers
I still love being outside when a storm rolls in. You can smell the creosote in the air before the rain even hits.
Years after moving away from Arizona, I returned with my camera as dark clouds settled low over the Supers and the last light ignited the rock underneath. The mountains glowed warm against a heavy sky, that deep copper red I grew up watching.
That evening produced some of my strongest images, but more than that, it reminded me that reading the sky wasn’t something I learned from a tutorial. I had been watching it my whole life.
The Cougar Shadow
On another visit, I finally captured the seasonal “cougar shadow” that briefly appears on the mountain face each year.
I had heard about it most of my life but missed it while I still lived there. It was one of the last days the shadow would appear that season, and I almost didn’t make it out in time. Sitting on the roof of my Jeep with my daughter beside me, watching it slowly take shape, felt full circle.
She knew how much it meant. In that moment, I realized I wasn’t just photographing a mountain; I was standing in a place that shaped me.
Home in the Landscape
When the Supers turn deep red at sunset, it still takes my breath away. It’s awe, but it’s also comfort. When you’ve seen something nearly every day of your life, it becomes part of you. I think the landscapes that raise us quietly stay with us. The Supers will always be home to me.
My Creative Choices
I relied on my Sony a6000, a faithful companion since 2018. When it was released, the Sony Alpha a6000 was a groundbreaking APS-C camera, especially known for its fast and innovative autofocus system that set a new standard at the time.
Most of these shots were captured with my Sony E 18-200mm f3.5-6.3 OSS LE lens. It was my go-to “do-it-all” glass because it allowed me to pivot from wide landscapes to tighter details without exposing my sensor to that relentless Arizona dust. When I caught the cougar shadow, I switched over to my Sony E 55-210mm f4.5-6.3 OSS to get the reach I needed.
I’ve recently upgraded to a Canon R6 Mark II to prepare for my transition into professional work; with requests coming in for weddings and maternity shoots, I wanted to be ready with a second body and a system that excels at portraits.
Framing the Journey
To “Frame Your Journey” is to recognize that we are constantly evolving as artists. My own path started with that Sony in the desert, and as my work has grown toward professional portraits and weddings, my gear has evolved along with me. But the equipment is just a tool. The real work is in the patience to wait for the light to hit just right.
My advice to anyone starting their own journey is to give yourself grace. You don’t have to have the latest tech or have every technical setting mastered on day one to tell a beautiful story. Just learn your tools enough so they help you capture the feeling of the moment.
I’m so grateful to John for his effort with this series. It’s a beautiful reminder that every photographer’s path is unique, and it’s been a privilege to share a piece of mine here.
Short Bio: Born and raised in Arizona, I spent my life shaped by the desert’s wide horizons. After years of moving across the country for my husband’s education and career, the world slowed down in 2020. It was during that quiet season that I finally picked up my camera, reclaiming my creative voice through the landscapes of the Midwest and my desert home. I named my business Blue Ridge Photography, drawn to the name years before we ever knew where we would settle. In a beautiful twist of fate, our final move to Wisconsin brought us to a blue house sitting on a ridge. Now, I am translating that lifelong eye for natural light into the intimate world of studio portraiture, proving that no matter how far the journey takes you, the right light will always find you.
Find me on Instagram at @blue_ridge_photography_
Camera for Travel
Sony Alpha a6000
Camera for portraits & lifestyle
Canon R6 II
Lens
Sony E 18–200mm F3.5–6.3 OSS LE
Sony E 55-210mm f4.5-6.3 OSS
Editing Apps
Adobe LR Classic
