Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashley Robertson.
Hi Ashley, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
For as long as I can remember, creating was something I simply loved to do. Growing up between Nashville and Los Angeles with creative parents, I always felt supported in expressing myself through art. Music was my first love and deepest passion, and as a native of Nashville, it felt sort of unavoidable with the music that filled the environment around me. My passion for photography grew as I spent my youth learning alongside my grandfather on his work trips to California, where his photography business flourished for years. Back then, everything was done on film still so it was such a carefully crafted art to learn. And as I grew up, I took both passions and ran with them. At 20 I moved to Los Angeles to give my “second home” a full-time chance, and as I enter my 10th year in this city, I’m so grateful I did. I’ve spent a decade honing my skills as a photographer through a multitude of opportunities that have come along the way. In any job I’ve had in my adult life I have tried to find a way to wiggle a camera into my work, but for those years it was still something I did on the side while I focused my efforts on building myself a career in marketing and design in the wild west of the cannabis industry. Life was a blast for a long time and I was able to learn and grow so much. I even got to be published in High Times and The New Yorker as well as have my work featured on the billboards of Hollywood! Getting to intertwine my artistic passions and my career goals felt like a dream come true, but there was still so much of me who wanted to give these creative expressions the time and dedication they deserved. So at the beginning of 2023, big rounds of layoffs took mine and many others jobs suddenly and without warning. It was a deeply significant loss but an equally necessary turning point in life. I finally got to give my photography business and my music the true full-time investment they deserved, and what’s come from just a year of that has been such a blessing. These moments I get to capture, the connections I’ve created through art, and the music that is flowing from my heart are an honor to have and experience in my life.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Growing up was not a smooth journey by any stretch – but I’ve not met many people whose roads were now that I think of it. As I grew up and became a teen and young adult, I started to lose friends and family I loved along the way to addictions and suicide. I can say it’s never gotten easier to lose people you love, but with each sudden passing came a deeper and deeper sense of gratitude for the time I’ve got to live in this world. All that grief opened a pathway to healing for my inner wounds and that has only made me more deeply resilient, passionate, and grateful to create art and express the human experience. Creating and spreading joy to the people around me is what makes this life worth living for me. So, I write and sing my songs, and I capture beautiful and intimate moments for beautiful humans, and it brings me deep joy in a way that feels bigger than just me. Joy sometimes feels like this gift I get to deliver to someone, like flowers or something. A song, a photograph – it’s something you can take with you. Something you can look at or hear again and spark that same joy again some other time when you need it.
So again – was it smooth sailing? Absolutely not. But I wouldn’t be this version of myself or have this view of the special magic of life without those bumps in the road.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m a storyteller at heart. I love to set a scene, to tell a story through whatever creative medium I’m working with. From my songwriting, to brand partners, to the couples that turn into families with little ones, as well as working with headshots and creative portraits – it all gives me the opportunity to “curate a vibe” and tell a unique story.
I’m also a serious nature lover and adventure addict. Whether it’s a small day trip to the Santa Monica Mountains or a wild adventure to Montana or an island somewhere – I draw so much of my inspiration to create from that time immersed in the world’s more natural environments. It’s so easy to get caught up in our hustles, especially in Los Angeles (I’ve always said time moves so much faster here), so I work hard to make time for that “self-care” in nature as often as possible.
How do you define success?
Success is such a beautiful concept to me because I feel like it looks so different to each person. For me, it’s about focusing my energy on what brings me happiness and fills me with a sense of purpose so I feel successful every time I have a client that expresses joy from a finished gallery, or when I create something really beautiful and true to myself in the music studio. It’s about chipping away at my passion-filled dreams of being an artist in many forms and working on myself and my heart every step of the way.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.goldenhourphotoco.com
- Instagram: @goldenhourphotoco_ / @ashleywanders_
- Facebook: @goldenhourphotoco_
Image Credits
@lindseykaymedia
