Today we’d like to introduce you to Trish Munn.
Hi Trish, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve always been drawn to beauty, color, and light. Even as a child, I instinctively found peace, acceptance, and love in Mother Nature and the magic and secrets to the universe that she so freely offered. I spent as much time as I could outdoors… marveling at clouds, collecting seashells and rocks, soaking up the sun’s warm rays, taking in the lake’s calming relief, and basking in the moonlight’s mystical embrace.
The only other passion that rivaled my love of nature, was my love of learning- from topics as broad as physics and outer space to memorizing Shakespeare’s classics. As an adult, my focus began to shift more and more to self-healing and researching every modality I could find to discover how I could move past a series of traumatic situations that occurred throughout my life, to discover who I really was and who I wanted to be.
I spent more than a decade as a television, newspaper, and radio journalist and photographer/videographer and spoke to people on what was, in many cases, the worst day of their lives. I covered everything from murder trials to presidential visits to the aftermath of tornadoes and hurricanes. Listening to so many peoples’ stories day in and day out, truly gave me an appreciation for the human condition.
I learned that every single person has a story they don’t show the rest of the world and that it’s one that often weighs very heavy on their hearts. I learned that people are resilient and that often they can use the deepest possible pain one could imagine to create the most beautiful gifts for other souls in need. More than anything though, I learned that life is fleeting, fragile, and special and that there is no task more important than uncovering who you really are, what you really want, and how you can use the things that light you up… to change the world.
In 2012, I decided to stop living my life on auto-pilot (going to work because I was supposed to, doing the career I chose because that’s what my degree was in, living with people who didn’t bring out the best in me because that’s what I had done for so many years, etc.) The result of this decision to start living with integrity and authenticity was nothing short of a free-fall dive off of a cliff at 260 miles an hour. I tried my hand at several different careers, created my own business, freaked out, got lonely and went back into the corporate world, freaked out, hated the 9-5 life, and then left again to create another new business. It was tough, it was long, it was excruciatingly lonely and confusing… but it was so, so worth it.
In the decade since, I’ve peeled back the layers of conditioning and adaptive behaviors to uncover who I truly am. I learned about my ability to heal myself using meditation, sound, light, and color therapy and my deep connection with nature. I’ve now come full-circle to my roots as a wild child staring at the sky… and happily get to spend my days as a professional photographer capturing that same beautiful sky behind buildings, homes, and people.
I spend dedicated time in nature each day, learning from the rocks and crystals I find along the way, listening to the messages that come along with each animal’s visit, and soaking up the profound healing I get by simply being in the presence of a blooming magnolia or the ocean’s low tide. The photographs I take each day are my way of sharing this wonder and beauty with the world.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has not been a smooth road at all… haha! Deciding to live authentically and following your passions as an entrepreneur is not for the faint-hearted. Luckily, I had lots of tenacity and the best support system I could ask for. My husband is my biggest cheerleader and supports and encourages me every day.
He’s also an entrepreneur and is open-minded enough to listen to the thousands of crazy ideas I come up with each year and help me sort out which ones I should actually begin to work on. We have four wonderful boys who fill our lives with laughter and love, and who also proudly display my landscape calendars and photographs in their rooms and office spaces.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I have the pleasure of wearing several “hats” in the creative realm. I specialize in portrait, landscape, and real estate photography and am also a commercially licensed drone pilot. When I’m not behind the camera, I’m in front of it, serving as the spokesperson for area businesses on television commercials and providing other voiceover work. I also often work as a consultant to business owners and entrepreneurs, helping them gain clarity on how to live their most authentic and creative lives and how to then take that energy into their businesses.
I am most known for my work as a landscape photographer and for my work on television. What sets me apart is my ability to find the beauty in anyone and anything and to use my camera and words to capture that beauty and share it with an audience. I am an eternal optimist that sees the interconnectedness of all things and I help others to find beauty and meaning in their lives.
Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
Of all the qualities that have helped me to succeed in life, “grit” is the one that has kept me going in spite of any and all obstacles that I encountered. I have a strong desire to help make the world a better and more beautiful place and have a deep wellspring of inner strength that I can always fall back on to give me the courage and tenacity to face any situation.
I am a deeply spiritual person and my relationship with the earth, the elements, animals, and a higher power all help give me the clarity and faith that I need to try new things, take risks and know that the universe always has my back.
Contact Info:
- Website: trishmunnphotography.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/trishmunn
- Facebook: facebook.com/trishmunnphotography
- Twitter: twitter.com/trishmunnphoto
- Youtube: tinyurl.com/trishmunn
Image Credits
Trish Munn Photography
