From where do you draw inspiration?
Ugh, too many places! Sometimes I just need a break. To close my eyes and just be free of any visual/audio stimulation! I think inspiration is literally everywhere. It's just a matter of being open to it. I do think it's important to get away from looking all the time. It's so easy to get overwhelmed and think, I'm not doing enough, not fast enough, not big enough. The other day I went to a bookstore, with real books, and stayed there for an hour looking at photo books. Honestly, I had not done that much in too long. It felt so nice to touch the pages, to look at a page for more than one second. I think getting away from the computer is how I find inspiration now...and whether that means going to the bookstore, to the museum, to yoga, to a new restaurant, to a different country, or simply to the post office at the corner, it's about being open and aware. For me any way!

Why do you chose to show your artwork on Plywerk?
Hands down the print quality. There is so much bad printing to save money these days that I think people are getting accustomed to that quality, and actually don't realize how bad it is until they see something beautiful like Plywerk. Of course, I also love that is is a deliverable finished product. You don't need to go out and frame it. It's a one stop shop of beauty, of environmentally friendly, of modern, of fresh, work.

You shoot an array of different types of photography (weddings and engagement, babies and families, fashion and Hollywood, travel shots). What is your favorite type and why?
You know actually, while the subject matter might be different, really the type of photography for me is not very different at all. When I was starting my photography career, I definitely felt a little scattered, I was shooting this an that and was trying to find my voice...but now, I feel quite resolved in what I am saying or want to be saying, and it could be shooting an orphanage in a village in Nepal, or on a Hollywood film set, and the photography to me is the same. It's light, it's connection, it's passion. For me, it's all the same.

Is there a current trend in photography that you love?
Absolutely not. Because it's exactly that, a trend.
On your website, you mention “caring for 49 kids in Nepal”. Can you elaborate on this? We’re so curious…
Yes, of course! I'd love to. I am the co-founder of Kids of Kathmandu, a NY based non-profit that through art + design, raises funds for education, food, clean water, and solar power for orphans and neglected children of Nepal. We started 3 years ago after a life changing (literally) trip to Nepal where we (my husband at the time) met and fell in love with these 49 children whose faces we could not get out of our heads. Now, 3 years later, we fund education for all 49 children, fund 4,5000 meals a month, installed solar panels last year, and are in the process of branching out to other orpahn homes in Nepal. It is an incredible country with beautiful children and people, and brings a lot of richness to my life, as well as a lot perspective...which is important living in New York City for 15 years now. You can forget that when you hear someone say they bought an apartment for 2 million dollars and the person next to them says, 'In that neighborhood? What a steal!'...That's when it's time to book a flight out of there for a month, and remember that the world is bigger than the tiny (but riveting and ever-fascintation) island of Manhattan.

What song best describes your work ethic?
Ha ha. Let's go with "4am" by Kaskade. I'm a night owl. That song is on my Spotify favorites list that keeps the zone going.

If you could have any superpower what would you choose?
I've thought of this more than once. How great it would be to have some kind of contraption that could change your height form the bottom of your feet with the push of a button. Adjustble legs! So many times during shoots I'm jumping up on a chair, on a table, then back on the ground, now on a stool, now on the ground, and back on the chair. Would be so great if I could just have adjustable legs (or taller parents, but I love them so I'll choose the adjustable legs)!

How do you like your eggs prepared?
Eggs Florentine with hollandaise on the side.
Favorite coffee drink?
Nepali milk tea. When I'm there, I drink so much of it, I think my blood stream becomes part milk tea.

Win an Jami Saunders print on Plywerk
Post a comment below and you will automatically be entered in a drawing to win a Jami Saunders print mounted on 3/4″ bamboo Plywerk!!! We’ll select a winner at random at the end of the month so make sure you come back to the blog in early March to see if you won and to check out the new featured artist! We’ll ship it anywhere in the continental US for free. If you win and need it shipped internationally, you’re on the hook for shipping costs. Sorry to be so mean.