Motherhood & Photography: Returning Home to Yourself with Ashley Klassen

A warm welcome back to photographer Ashley Klassen, who is the founder of photography studios 'Sol Atelier' in Toronto & Montreal.

In this episode Ashley shares about her journey in business and motherhood. She speaks to her experience navigating studio ownership in two cities, being a mother in the pandemic and how she is trying to find balance between her creative life and role as a mother.

We also explore the vulnerability in learning new things: for Ashley - a new language; for Monique - signing up for singing lessons. I hope you enjoy this conversation with editorial photographer and creator of super stylish photography studios 'Sol Atelier' in Toronto & Montreal, Ashley Klassen.

Transcription

Monique (Host) 00:00:03

Welcome to part two with editorial and brand photographer Ashley Klassen. We had an amazing first episode, and we both decided we didn't cover even the tip of the iceberg of what we wanted to talk about. We wanted to talk about motherhood, and we wanted to talk about singing, and we wanted her beautiful studios. She is the founder and creator of the super stylish photography studios called Sol Atelier, both in Toronto and Montreal. And if you missed last episode, Ashley shared about how she navigates her fear in her creative life and what she's looking forward to in the near future. We talked about things that nourish ourselves as artists and the ways that it supports our creative lives. So welcome back, Ashley. I'm so happy to have you again. And I'm so excited to talk about more things because we left last conversation, like, both sort of deer and headlights. Like, we didn't even get there. Oh, my God, all the things.

Ashley (Guest) 00:01:56

Yeah. Well, no, I'm looking forward to this part two, and it's always an honour to chat with you. So thanks for having me again.

Monique (Host) 00:02:04

Okay, so last time I chatted with you, you were about to embark on the beginning of a summer to saver. So you were on the cusp of going on a girls vacation and really filling your cup that way. So give me a recap. How was it? How are you? How are you feeling?

Ashley (Guest) 00:02:22

It was great. I feel, like, rested and energized, and it was kind of you know how it is when you get your best friends together. You just have that magical healing power to be everything you need for each other.

Monique (Host) 00:02:41

It's almost like a reminder. Oh, yeah, you again. There you are. It's just a different sort of environment, and you have those different conversations and especially people that have known you for so long, you can laugh about the old things and dream about the future and be excited.

Ashley (Guest) 00:03:00

Yeah, it was exactly that.

Monique (Host) 00:03:04

How wonderful. What did you guys eat? Any highlights?

Ashley (Guest) 00:03:10

Everything yummy. Like, we brought a bunch of stuff that was unplanned. Rach made the Jennifer Aniston salad with her own modifications. Have you heard about this salad?

Monique (Host) 00:03:22

No. What is it? Really?

Ashley (Guest) 00:03:24

Well, essentially, like, the magical ingredient is pistachios, but pistachio, that sounds like that's an expensive salad. Pistachios are expensive.

Monique (Host) 00:03:34

They're, like, $11 for, like, a handful.

Ashley (Guest) 00:03:38

Chickpeas. Just, like, super light and green. And I made a really yummy soup and banana bread. We went out for dinner one night and to a really nice restaurant in Pickton and had paella and bacon wrapped dates. It was all very yummy. I brought croissants from Montreal. Of course, the food is like its own vibe. Reach brought champagne. It was just nice.

Monique (Host) 00:04:07

Oh, you did it right. You did it. Good.

Ashley (Guest) 00:04:13

Company.

Monique (Host) 00:04:14

What a nice feeling.

Ashley (Guest) 00:04:16

You had a little gathering last night, it looked like.

Monique (Host) 00:04:19

Yeah, I did. It was so nice. You know, life here. So I live in a very quiet town at the very end of the road in Panama for people listening who don't know. And I think just sort of my lifestyle of like, I'm a working mom and there's only so much time to do things. And the daylight starts at around 06:30 a.m. And it gets dark by 06:00 p.m.. Because we're right at the equator. 6630. And I have a baby, so my day is done. 6630 pretty much like we have dinner and then we just kind of go to bed with him. So last night was really nice. I managed to kind of sneak out. I have a few girlfriends that are my actual neighbors. And on the walk over to my girlfriend Lauren's house, she's also just, like, a total soul sister. Love pulling angel cards and drinking tea. So on my way over, it was pitch black at maybe, like, 730. And in the corner of my eye in this dark sort of yard, there was this really loud and it startled me. Really loud, and it was a horse. So here we have people ride their horses. It's very sort of like, agricultural. It's small, but people still ride their horses around. And one of the horses has gone loose, and it said hello to me. It scared me when I feel like the blood drains out of your face, you're like and then I was like, oh, it's just you. It's just a horse. It's just a magical horse. And then so Loren and I were cuddled. She had this whole sort of, like, table prepared with beautiful tea. She had two tiki torch lights going. She had lit, like, some beautiful Nag champa incense. It was just so nice. It was so nice. And we sat and we just talked. And then we pulled cards, and there was one that was kind of like an animal deck. And I pulled a horse card. So we both looked at each other and we're like, yeah, it was great.

Ashley (Guest) 00:06:33

What did it say?

Monique (Host) 00:06:38

Well, I took a picture of it because we were so freaked out. You know when something weird happens and you almost can't read it because you're just like, what happened? But it was talking about it was bringing a message of freedom, journey, and progress. So, yeah, it said, claim your innate divine dignity. Allow yourself to feel and be graceful. Recognize and honor your needs for rest, openness, safety, and respect.

Ashley (Guest) 00:07:09

Yeah.

Monique (Host) 00:07:09

Connect with your spirit. Live your truth.

Ashley (Guest) 00:07:11

Love it all.

Monique (Host) 00:07:13

Love it all. So I went to bed and really sort of yeah, nourished, it felt really great.

Ashley (Guest) 00:07:20

And what else was the intention of the night?

Monique (Host) 00:07:25

Yeah, just her and I really spur the moment. She's also a mother, and life has been really busy, so it's just really nice to make that time. And I had a really good sleep, too. I think it just woke up feeling really nice and peaceful and had a productive morning thus far, so feeling really good.

Ashley (Guest) 00:07:48

Feeling really good. Nice. Apparently it was like a portal type day yesterday.

Monique (Host) 00:07:55

I spelled this horse action.

Ashley (Guest) 00:07:59

Yeah.

Monique (Host) 00:07:59

Cool. I should look up.

Ashley (Guest) 00:08:01

I should look that up.

Monique (Host) 00:08:04

How interesting. Well, Ashley, welcome back. We didn't even talk about your cool ass photography studio. Solitude. It's the coolest place in the world. I remember when you had the Toronto location only, and I'd come to Toronto, we'd run, actually, photography workshop together. Like an introduction to photography workshop. And you showed me your space, and I just am so in awe at your neck at putting a space together. Like, you really are so talented at it. And you have such a beautiful eye and taste. I don't even know where you find some of this furniture. You're like a Facebook market queen, marketplace queen. Tell me the journey of opening your studio, because I know you had hard times, too, when Covet had started and so many people ran into issues, obviously. But I'd love to hear how Solar unfolded and where you're at now and what you love most about it, because it's brought you working with really cool people, too. Like Valeria Lipavez, really sort of high profile. Not only, like, Canadian people, but international people. It's really neat and just really talented. Also creative people. Tell me a little bit about how Solar came to be.

Ashley (Guest) 00:09:38

Yeah, it's really amazing what a space can do. You think God just a space, but it's a container. And it really gave me the freedom that I didn't know I needed to create experiences. And I've always loved creating experiences, but to actually have a physical space to do that really was an opening into this other world. Now that I'm like, hey, this is what I will always be doing this in some capacity. Photography studio airbnb. I've signed up to the income property way of life. Also, just as a business. It's passive income and it's great. So I kind of stumbled upon studios through a mutual friend back in the time of 2019. It wasn't a common thing at all. Nobody was doing it.

Monique (Host) 00:10:29

I remember because you put the concept out and so many people copied you.

Ashley (Guest) 00:10:35

Yeah.

Monique (Host) 00:10:36

It was not even in your own city, like, all over.

Ashley (Guest) 00:10:40

Yeah, people can take the idea and run with it. It was the aesthetic that was like, okay, come on. Or like the copy and paste the copy site. Exactly. And back then it really just was the need to shoot in a space that felt like natural. There was tacky studios around and my friend had an amazing place and I was like, you guys should rent it. This loft is amazing. And that was LOVT Studio. And they were like, oh yeah, this is business. And they had this other property, which is the one that I eventually took over, that they were like, it's too much to manage both opposite ends of the city. Do you want to take over the lease? So it kind of really just did happen. Like, good timing, good place to be. They were also my best friends, so when I took it over, it was huge step for me because I alone, I would never have taken that risk. So to kind of jump at the opportunity, I think that was one of the months I barely got any sleep. Probably similar. Not as bad as newborn, not sleeping, but like, different. My frequency was like, you have to get this done, you have to paint. Because I was doing it all by myself. Alex was there if I needed a hand. But it was mostly me. Facebook, shopping, running around the city, picking up stuff and hoarding it and really being like, okay, you got bills to pay, like in a month and it's just going to work. Like, all that stuff stresses me out for a first timer. But long story short, did it? It was successful right off the bat. It was unique. Another beautiful thing that happened in the early days of that studio was we hosted so many. I was like, I have a space. It needs to be used. And it makes me sad when it's empty. So we are having gatherings here on the weekend. We are bringing in people who I just would love to have like, can you host a dinner? Hey, do you know people who can do this? And that's really where the magic was. And that's where I met all my best connections and musicians.

Monique (Host) 00:13:00

What I love about this, you invited people into your space on your own terms. Because when you and I met, I was so what's the word? Impressed. And really had never seen a woman be so because one of my things, I'm over accommodating. Oh, yeah, sure, we'll stay. Let's go. Let's go to this place. I can chat for a long time, even though really if I listen to myself, I kind of want to leave. Or maybe it's not the right social sort of space that I want to be in. And I remember you and I going to I don't know, it was like a restaurant or something that's quite busy. Maybe there was a sporting event, hockey game or something. And you were just so undeniably bored. So bored. People would try and not in a snobby way, but it was just like not your vibe. Not your vibe. And it just like, I respected it so much where I was like, I need to bring some of this into my life. Because she's just honoring what she wants and what she likes. And I never really stopped to think about that because I have always over accommodated and to watch you do that. And now I love listening to you talk about gathering and because it's not that you're not social, you're just specific about who you like to spend your time with. And I think that is like a huge lesson. That's something that I've learned, for sure. Your energy is so and the people that you spend time with is so important. And I just see what you've created even in your business, like, with soul and these experiences that you put on where you're like, oh, I remember you talking about it being like, I want poets, I want musicians to come. I want amazing. I remember you did like, a candle making workshop, but everything is just so the way you do it is infused with so much, like, richness and the artistry of it. It's so beautiful, so cool.

Ashley (Guest) 00:15:19

Yeah. A little lesson in the boundaries.

Monique (Host) 00:15:21

Yes.

Ashley (Guest) 00:15:23

I know what I like. I am very picky, and some people see that as snobby, but I just know what I'd like.

Monique (Host) 00:15:29

But you're not at all. No, you're far from it. Okay. And then you started creating these beautiful events and people started getting like I mean, you've had really big clients come through your spaces, top shop, like, big brands and big, big personal brands too. And then so when did it shift from being like, okay, I'm going to open a second location? Because that's a big deal, especially in a different city.

Ashley (Guest) 00:15:59

Yes. It honestly really only happened out of necessity for me to do something. Because we moved cities right before Pandemic, like January 2020, because Alex got a job here. So I was following my husband and I was like, well, I don't know what I'm going to do in Montreal. I don't speak French. It took me two years to build the studio and the clientele that I had in Toronto, I won't be happy if I don't have my space. And I know what that feels like. So I just right off the bat knew, like, I have to open something in Montreal. And there was nothing that existed like it in Montreal, no lifestyle spaces. So I just did that here and planned to open end of March 2020. And that was a huge let down. And went through a period in my life where I just was, like, stressed to the max because I had not planned financially to have that banked money to carry me through the hard times. I had just opened a studio, which was a lot of upfront costs. And the Toronto studio, everything was, as you know, shut down. And there wasn't much support out there for small businesses. And I wasn't even considered a small business because I was a sole proprietor. I didn't have like a business bank account. I wasn't registered as a business. I was just myself. So I had to do a little fundraiser because the amount draining out of my bank account within those three, four months was just crazy. Just the baseline cost. So stressful. But it ended up being like a really after that it happened and people came back really wanting to be creative and studios were busy after that. So it kind of put that behind me and also learned my lesson that you need to was this ever a lesson in learning how to financially plan? I need to have like how much does it cost for any time? If I need to close my business, I need to shut the door. There's costs associated with that. I need all my exit. My exit costs.

Monique (Host) 00:18:21

Yeah.

Ashley (Guest) 00:18:22

So now I know how much that would be and how much I need to keep around to exit the business and yeah, that was that.

Monique (Host) 00:18:35

And then you got pregnant.

Ashley (Guest) 00:18:38

Oh my gosh. Yeah. Within the pandemic, like so many of us having our little pandemic babies, where do we start about having a baby and having a business and what to expect? My mentality, which is very similar to the people I hang around with, is I trust my inner wisdom. I can do this. I'll face whatever happens when it happens. I'm not much of a planner. I'm not going to read like scientific books even. I kind of just go with the flow. So everything has been a real when it happens, I feel it. Okay.

Monique (Host) 00:19:32

Well, that's the thing. People say there's not a guidebook. Like there are, there's just like too many guidebooks to navigating. So I'm sort of in the same approach to you where yeah, I feel it and you know, if something's out of my reach or out of my scope, I feel like I'm a little over my head. Then I'll reach to Google, reach to friends that are health care professionals. My mother in law here is a nurse, so she's been a really wonderful resource. But we are quite far from any real resources. Like half an hour drive in Potholes to a teeny tiny hospital that's like basically outside and then 2 hours away from a proper hospital. If something bad bad happens, then you go there and then 6 hours from a city if you need to, I don't know, like say you have a face injury and you want to get like facial your occipital bone redone or something. Like something terrible happens, that's where you would go. You go 6 hours. It's kind of wild, but yeah, thankfully we've been pretty good. This could be a whole podcast in itself. Like a whole topic of having a baby. I mean, there are so many out there, but specifically in the pandemic, it's just so wild.

Ashley (Guest) 00:21:10

Yeah.

Monique (Host) 00:21:14

Can you tell me about - So I've been calling it the fifth trimester because you have the baby and then your three months of the fourth trimester where you're, like, healing and trying to figure out what the heck is going on. And your body is just really readjusting into this rhythm with another baby and healing, and you sort of psychologically, you know, that this is just a rest time. This is a period of it's not the time to do anything. You just chill. But then it becomes sort of weird because there's this fifth trimester of when you're baby. Like. Three to six months where you're like. I just had such a surge of creativity and wanting to just get back a piece of myself when truthfully. I think you and I talked about this. But it took a good year for me to feel connected back to myself again. Even just. Like. In my body. And I mean, it goes by so fast. It goes by so slow. Pardon me, I'm curious. What the fourth and fifth trimester? If the fifth trimester, if you experienced a creative sort of energy or what it was like for you, tell me what it was like.

Ashley (Guest) 00:22:40

Yeah, well, right now I'm in Leo's 10th month, so we've had a very like, when I look back of how the year kind of unfolded and, like, the seasons, how everything aligned was actually really complimentary to, I think, what I needed and what we needed as a family at the time. And that fourth trimester, he was born in July, so those first three, four months, it was summer and fall, and it was immensely hard, the hardest thing I've ever done. And the weirdest thing to try and describe it was so emotional, such a roller coaster, so much like, challenges. But at the same time, I feel, like, grateful to have had my mum came, Alex's mom came. I could go out for a walk. The weather was still okay. The weather affects us. We don't think about how crazy it really affects us in covet times, especially because we can't, like, leave your place. But that season, the fourth trimester, just wild, just crazy. And I was frustrated, I was sad, I was on edge, but I was also had these moments of joy. It was the really experience of the extremes. Truly was. And every, like, five minutes it was sleep. Like, all these things just so crazy. We talked about this. How you feel those first couple of months? You're like, what the fuck did I just do with your first kid? You're like, I'm never doing that again. I felt that so strongly. And even if Alex was like, yeah, when we had the second one, I was like, there's no second one. Are you kidding me? I was like, I can't do this again. I felt beyond but that's starting anyway.

Monique (Host) 00:24:52

Yeah, totally. And it does. And I remember thinking about women who I know, who had not only more than one child. I got five under five. We have four children. I'm like, who are you? How what tell me, what are you even, like, eating to support yourself? Oh, my gosh. It's it's incredibly, like, soulful filling and lifegiving, and it's so incredibly depleting at the same time.

Ashley (Guest) 00:25:31

And if, you know, it's bewildering it's shocking. You're just like, wow, all moms are goddesses.

Monique (Host) 00:25:37

Totally.

Ashley (Guest) 00:25:39

You get free card wherever you're yes, whatever. All hail mom. You got this crazy you just described.

Monique (Host) 00:25:48

My two I had two thoughts, honestly, the moment that Noah was born. So we had a natural vaginal birth, and he came out, I caught him, and I put him on my chest, and immediately two thoughts came to my mind. I said, I'm never doing that again. The most wild thing I will ever experience in my life. And the second thing that I thought immediately was, it doesn't matter who you are. It doesn't matter how your baby came into the world. If you are a mother, I have the most high respect for you. There is no question. It's like, if you are a mom, you are it. Those are the two things that came out of my mind. However, now I'm open to the idea of maybe a second baby. But in the moment, I'll tell you, that's what crossed my mind. It's something else. When did you feel like you could get creative again or even touch that part of you? Because for me, I think it was, like, between four and five months. I wrote a children's book, and I've not done anything with it. It's in manuscript phase. I've actually sent it to maybe two publishing houses, but it's honestly, it's a word document. There's nothing I would love to illustrate it. I just recently spoke with Sarah Anne Gustal, and she's this really talented indigenous artist and writer teacher and a massage therapist. She does lots of different sort of really creative, beautiful things. And she's putting out a book called You Are Sacred, and she's illustrated it herself. It looks so beautiful. So it's coming out in the next month or two. So she's inspired me. I'm like, oh, maybe I could do the illustrations. But yeah, it's hard. It's really hard because you're shooting again. Like, I see you going to Toronto here and there, you'll do, like, a couple of nights at night or whatever and book a bunch of work, and then that's that. So when did you sort of feel ready to do that again or feel like the itch to be creative and start doing other things?

Ashley (Guest) 00:28:18

I think luckily, I'm in a position where I have a partner who's very present. We talked about this before. Having a baby, I knew it would be a big one for me, was returning back to myself, having my space, going back to work. My work is my joy and big part of my identity, and I just knew, like, I didn't want to lose myself. So, I mean, we talked about child care before we had Leo. We talked about how he can support me and what that would look like. And I told him, not knowing anything about motherhood or babies development or whatever, I was like, I don't know, maybe three months will be a good time to go back to work. Poor little Leo.

Monique (Host) 00:29:16

Can't even hold his head at that age.

Ashley (Guest) 00:29:18

He's just a sweet, vulnerable little baby. My mom's there all of a sudden, oh, Ash, no.

Monique (Host) 00:29:27

Time.

Ashley (Guest) 00:29:27

Three months. But I'm like you never know. Anyway, so we had this idea of, well, do we like, is that the time to do daycare? Obviously, he was three months old. I was like, there's no way I'm sending him to daycare as a three month old.

Monique (Host) 00:29:44

But some people have to. It depends on what you know what I mean? Yeah, but for your situation, for sure, I had to go back to work at six weeks, but I work from the house, so Luis was here, and the reason that I had to go back to work was because we were in the pandemic, and he didn't necessarily have work because tourism is a huge thing here. So it's so interesting how everyone sort of navigated what was going on. I look back at that time and I had some sort of, like, healing stuff come up around the five week mark. So that whole time of going back to work and it was just so wild. Yeah, it was soon, but it was also 4 hours a day, and I was able to split it up. It was very flexible in that period of time. So, yeah, it didn't feel like too much, looking back. However, if you ask me in the moment at six and a half weeks how I was doing, I don't know how it was. No, but I think it's fine. Okay, so then three months. No.

Ashley (Guest) 00:31:04

Four months was the first time we took a trip as a family to Toronto. We want to see friends. I think I did a little, like, maybe a day of shoots. Alex came, so he was with his papa all day. That was really nice. So I started, I think, at four months, like, doing one day or maybe two days of the month, I would have, like, a couple of hours leave on the weekend. So leave Leo with Papa, and I would go do something creative. And even just that little, it was just like, oh, here I am again. I'm able to come out of my cave because my home and how it affected me mentally, I couldn't really get out of it without my tools that I had practiced, which were being creative outside the house or talking to other people. It was really hard for me. So it was more of a mental health thing, too. Yeah, I needed it for my mental health.

Monique (Host) 00:31:59

Yeah, totally.

Ashley (Guest) 00:32:00

Yeah. And then Christmas came around. We went to Mexico. That was a whole other thing, too. That was a really nice time because we could just be with family and there was no pressure. But I was antsy. I was like, oh, he's around five months now. I'm like, okay, we're going. By the time we get back, we should probably enroll him in Daycare because I'm ready to think about all the things that need to happen for the studio. Mostly for the studio. My photography. It's so great to be a photographer because you can just work whenever you want. And you can.

Monique (Host) 00:32:34

When you're a really good photographer, like Ashley Clause, you can just work whenever you want. You are so talented. I still have deep regrets that I'm able to come to Toronto in the middle of the pandemic and have you shoot me being pregnant, because that was always a dream. But who knows? Well, you are working on a book. We talked about it last time. Your creative project. Emotional aesthetics. But it's kind of nice that you don't have a timeline to get that necessarily done. You can kind of flow it.

Ashley (Guest) 00:33:31

Yeah, creativity and motherhood is kind of like, what our timelines?

Monique (Host) 00:33:37

Yeah, that's a very good point. It's a very good point.

Ashley (Guest) 00:33:42

It's all relative to child care, really. You have access to it. And that's a whole another thing. I kept thinking about how I had these thoughts of other mothers. Like, what about the mothers that can afford child care? What about the mothers that are in remote locations? What about the mothers you can feel trapped, like you need support. Mothers need support. So much support. And I just felt super privileged. And in some ways, like, I have other I look at other moms who are able to have people come work from nannies who can work in the house. Like, wouldn't that be great? You could see your baby and work like, oh, that'd be so great. And there's privilege plays such a huge role in the motherhood journey. And it's so like, we're still living in it a time of where it's so needed and childcare is so undervalued.

Monique (Host) 00:34:47

And Leo is in daycare right now.

Ashley (Guest) 00:34:50

Yes.

Monique (Host) 00:34:52

And when do you get to see him again?

Ashley (Guest) 00:34:55

I see him at around 04:00. I go and pick him up.

Monique (Host) 00:34:58

That's so nice. What do you have on your plan today? What's on the deck today?

Ashley (Guest) 00:35:05

Honestly, not too much. Just some kind of like, maintenance of studio business stuff.

Monique (Host) 00:35:15

The unsexy stuff. Let's talk about it because there's so much unsexyness to being a business owner and also being a creative. It's so lovely. It's so magical sometimes. But that's sort of what we have to share and show, is the magical sexiness of being a creative person. People want to see photo shoots and that sort of thing. They don't want to see how our taxes are put together and. Juggling studio bookings and cleaning fees and all of the things that are so necessary to being a business owner, creative business owner. Like, people for years would always be like, oh my gosh, manic your job, your dream. But there's other aspects, too. Just like everything in life, there's a trade off.

Ashley (Guest) 00:36:11

Yeah, I know. For me right now, I'm at the point in my business where I'm getting official. Like, I always maybe probably looked official, but wasn't. That means getting a business bank account, hiring an accountant, consulting with lawyers, stuff for my business and also, like, stuff for my personal life. I'm like, now you can finally go see a dentist. Now you can all these just take care of yourself, take care of your business. While it's kind of slow because business is slow for the studios right now, it's also slow for my photography. I'm not pushing anything, so I'm kind of just doing some back end work and yeah, it just kind of needs to be done. What does that look like for you these days?

Monique (Host) 00:37:06

Like the unsexiness?

Ashley (Guest) 00:37:09

Yeah. Oh my gosh.

Monique (Host) 00:37:13

What is the unsexiness of my business? Do you know what? It's just a lot of sort of right now. I don't want to say I'm spinning plates, but I've got many projects on the go that I feel so passionate about, and they're all going, they're all good. So I think what's hard for me is, like, being present as a mom and then also wanting to give energy to my creative projects. That gives me so much life also. And I think I've got a pretty decent balance right now. Like, Noah gets cared for in the mornings, and he's a year and a half, so it's great. He has his little morning adventure snack, lunch, and then I get the rest of the evening with him. It's really nice, but where it's hard is like, I wish I could go faster. I know I could be so much more productive if I had like, a full work day. And even, for example, putting up this podcast. It's amazing. It's life giving. I'm having so much fun with it. However old me, five years ago, me would have been like, there's an episode every week and this is how it's going to go. But right now, I need to put this as enjoyment side project. So fun, soul filling conversations that inspire artists. That's like, what I want from this. And there is no schedule. It's just when there's availability because I'm doing a little photography, I also want to have a summer to saver. So that means creating space so I can't be doing all the things. But yeah, I mean, the unsexiness aspects of my business are just always taxes, details, sort of like admin stuff, blah, blah, blah. There's lots of sexy stuff about my business. I feel re energized shooting people where I live now. I get to photograph a lot of well, I've started surf photography, and that is the coolest I feel like. So for years, okay, 15 year old Monic was in love with the movie Blue Crush, Kate Bosworth. And then she comes out into the final competition, and she does her thing and she just kills it. She gets that wave. And my whole room was Roxy billy Bong. I painted my walls baby pink. I had all of these ads all over the walls that I'd, like, ripped out from magazines of, like, surfing, each inspired. And it's so funny to me now. I live this, like, truly, that's, like, the life that I'm living is our community revolves around surf the ocean and that kind of lifestyle. So for years, I was like, imagine being a surf photographer.

Ashley (Guest) 00:40:30

That'd be so cool.

Monique (Host) 00:40:32

People don't know this unless you've really sort of gone to do the research. But a water housing is essentially the contraption that goes around your camera, that allows you to bring it into water, into the ocean. People don't know is that water housing is equally as expensive as a nice camera. So it's expensive. It's like you're looking at at least, like, start 2000 and then upwards, depending on what kind of land you want to house and that sort of thing. So it's expensive. And I hummed, and I thought about it forever until it was about Noah being one year old, and I was sort of getting itchy to really start shooting again. The weather coincided with weather being really beautiful here and lots of surf. It was just those blue, sunny mornings, the oceans aqua blue. There's butterflies floating over the waves. The pelicans are down, fishing, looking for fish. There's, like, rainbows in the distance. It's like it's crazy. And I remember thinking of all photographers who should probably have a water housing, this is me. I need to do this. So I had a little bit of savings, and I was like, you know what? I'm just going to do it. And I haven't been able to go out as much as I would like to. However, the photos that I am managing to get, it's an entirely different world for me, for photography. Like, being in the water is so different, very physical.

Ashley (Guest) 00:42:04

You have to fight the wave.

Monique (Host) 00:42:07

I know you're not physical.

Ashley (Guest) 00:42:09

I'm tired already. Ashley.

Monique (Host) 00:42:12

People don't know Ashley. I remember once you did this collaborative blog post with Johanna Sir, who fitness fitness, like personality brand, and you guys are doing a workout thing, and she.

Ashley (Guest) 00:42:30

Had to teach you how to do.

Monique (Host) 00:42:31

A lunch in your 20s or something. You're not an athletic approach. You don't have an athletic, maybe approach to being active. So funny. But yeah, it's a really physical, physical thing, and it's really fun. And it's tricky because you have to get the light right. You're shooting something moving. The ocean is moving. The surfer is moving. You can't get hit by the board. I have a friend oh, my God. No. Taken off. It's intense, but I knew that getting in the water, I would get, like, bomb photos. I was so excited. I have a collection of pretty awesome surf photos, and I'm so excited to do it more. Like, I can't wait to unfold. I've got this water housing and so yeah, unexpectedly, like, the past few months have been really busy with photography. It's sort of, like, coincided with tourism, picking up where I live and people wanting photos. So it wasn't something that I really was pushing at all. I was a photographer, saw my stuff, and then yeah, so it's been nice. And so that's kind of something to kind of plan for. You talking about planning and being official. It's like something to plan for next year. Knowing when that season comes to make space. Because it's good business.

Ashley (Guest) 00:44:07

Totally is.

Monique (Host) 00:44:08

Yeah. And really aligned. Like, a lot of yoga brands. A lot of yoga, like, personal brands, people, instructors wanting lovely photos. And that's where I started in photography, was teaching shooting yoga, like, ten plus years ago. So it's funny because it feels, in a little bit of a way, like, coming full circle. What did you start shooting? What was your first?

Ashley (Guest) 00:44:37

I guess my first would have been I was working at a digital media creative agency, and I was kind of running their stock subscription company, so I was shooting a lot of dude in their feet.

Monique (Host) 00:44:53

Hey, I'm sure that would be very into that.

Ashley (Guest) 00:44:57

Yes. But my creative at the time was my girlfriend. I was just doing Girl my girlfriend's on this one.

Monique (Host) 00:45:04

That's so fun. Yeah. So beautiful. Wow. Are you using Presets? You're editing? So cool.

Ashley (Guest) 00:45:12

No, I don't use presets.

Monique (Host) 00:45:14

For every shoot, you're just sliding the things in lightroom. Wow. You should put a course out. I would love to see how you slide them. Sliders?

Ashley (Guest) 00:45:27

Yeah. Oh, my gosh. It's so experimental. What really I think, is the magic is making, like, some shoots. I'm like, oh, why did I shoot that setting? Or why did I shoot all backlit? It's really mastering the triangle on the shoot. I have periods where I go through okay, I want it to be a little bit more overexposed and then like, no. Okay, now I'm going to go through a period of having a little bit underexposed period of, like, I should only shoot up aperture four and higher. And I'm like, no, I don't like that style. I'm going back to my 1.4.

Monique (Host) 00:46:04

Like 1.4.

Ashley (Guest) 00:46:07

You used to shoot at the lowest when you first start.

Monique (Host) 00:46:13

It's so dreamy. So dreamy. Yeah. I'm still at, like, a two. I'm like a 2.5 sometimes 2.5. It's kind of my sweet spot. Four, never. Don't talk to me about a 4.0 aperture. I'm not into it. But that's so interesting that you do. Maybe that's what I'm missing.

Ashley (Guest) 00:46:31

I just think you're with portrait. No, no, not so much with portrait.

Monique (Host) 00:46:36

What are your favorite lenses?

Ashley (Guest) 00:46:39

My 35. I only have a 35 and a 50, and I use 35 more often because I'm always shooting in my studios, and to get a full body, like, I need 35, and I've rented the 24 to 70 quite a few times, but because I'm so used to shooting a non zoom, I just end up not using it. I'm like, oh, yeah, I could zoom. I'm running around, like, with a zoom lens. I'm so stupid. I don't know. But I think that would be a next purchase for me, just for some versatility in commercial work, but for creative portrait work. 35. Yeah.

Monique (Host) 00:47:22

Do you have any interest in doing more editorial work?

Ashley (Guest) 00:47:28

Like, what do you define as editorial?

Monique (Host) 00:47:30

Yeah. Okay. So working specifically with brands, like, not just like, let's say a fashion brands exactly.

Ashley (Guest) 00:47:44

Or, like, jewelry brands. Like, what are their fashion? Jewelry, beauty. Those are all, like, the kind of feminine brands that would come to me or something. Yes, and no more.

Monique (Host) 00:47:58

So working with magazines. Like, more like magazines being published.

Ashley (Guest) 00:48:04

Okay. So what I've kind of discovered about the whole publishing thing is there's creative, which is basically what I've done, is I produce a shoot myself and I give it to the magazine, or magazines aren't really a thing anymore. There's at least at the level where me and my colleagues are at toronto, for example, there's Toronto Life, there's the Kit, there's all these sort of magazines that publish things and places and people, but they're not artistic per se. They just need, like, content. Content. So I don't have that aspiration to be like, I wish I could shoot and be published in their magazine, because it's not really a pat on the back for creativity. It's just that's more of a who you know? Right.

Monique (Host) 00:48:55

Who you know, and filling pages, and.

Ashley (Guest) 00:48:58

I'm not interested in that.

Monique (Host) 00:48:59

And it's not intentional.

Ashley (Guest) 00:49:02

No. So the only publication that really excited me was Mother Muse, and she's not even printing anymore.

Monique (Host) 00:49:07

Really? That's such a shame, because her stuff is so beautiful.

Ashley (Guest) 00:49:12

Yeah. So she just says digital and yeah. I don't know. I think it was always something that was like, I got to check this off my box so that people might take me seriously or that I could take myself seriously, or that I could prove to them it was always a good creative project. And I probably would still do it if I lived in Toronto. But living in Montreal, I don't know anybody here's. Me and my limiting beliefs.

Monique (Host) 00:49:39

You've exposed yourself.

Ashley (Guest) 00:49:41

Yeah. Like, I don't know. But you know what? Guess what? Yesterday, we just bought a property. You did? We just bought an income property.

Monique (Host) 00:49:52

Okay, we're going to making moves, but we bought in Toronto or Montreal.

Ashley (Guest) 00:49:59

Montreal.

Monique (Host) 00:50:00

Holy smoke. I was like you bought in Toronto. What the heck is happening? It's, like, so impossible. Never mind limiting beliefs. It's like limiting realities.

Ashley (Guest) 00:50:14

Wow.

Monique (Host) 00:50:14

You must travel up in Montreal.

Ashley (Guest) 00:50:17

Yes.

Monique (Host) 00:50:19

Nothing to do with shooting, nothing to do with that. You're just going to rent it and you're going to live in money too. Okay, yeah.

Ashley (Guest) 00:50:26

And we have to move into it because in order to pay the first time home buyer, like a 10% down, we have to live in it or else we would have to pay 20% down, which would be insane. So we are going to move in next year, but it's like a really nice old 1900 old spacious property. And we're just thinking about, like, how are we going to do this and how do we make the most of it? And I was like, you know what we should rent out when we move into the unit? We should rent out the front half as an airbnb and we'll just live in the back half, just like as we do super cramped. Because that's the way it's the only way we're going to make profit. Because the way we're scheduled to go, we are paying two to $500 a month for our mortgage because the renters don't pay the mortgage and there's at least 100K upkeep that it needs. So we're like, how would it be crazy? But I trust Alex. He knows, he understands if it's a good investment or not. Anyway, so I'm like, how are we going to do this? We have tenants. They all speak French. And obviously Alex was a full time job. Guess whose shoulders is going to probably rely on? How am I going to deal with contractors or service providers? I don't speak French. So I was like, really thinking yesterday I've been hoeing and humming not really.

Monique (Host) 00:51:58

Interested or forced to learn I've been hoeing and humming. I've been humming and hawing humming and high if you stayed.

Ashley (Guest) 00:52:16

Away falling that's.

Monique (Host) 00:52:20

So funny that's something I would say. Oh my gosh, that's so cool I've.

Ashley (Guest) 00:52:23

Lost all my words.

Monique (Host) 00:52:26

Okay, so you've been hung and humming.

Ashley (Guest) 00:52:28

About, humming and humming about like, just learning French, being like, I don't need to, I'll just keep working in Toronto, I don't need to work here. And now I'm like, shit, I need to learn. So, yeah, I feel like buying this property is going to be a big shift to actually put my mind and my time into Montreal. And it's going to mean some sacrifice. Meaning, like, I'm not going to be able to go to Toronto as much because I feel like I can only spread myself so thin. But yeah, I need to learn French and I think that's going to be a big thing for me.

Monique (Host) 00:53:13

Well, scariest so coming from someone who just learned a language in two and a half years. I woke up the other day and thought to myself, I speak three languages now. Like, it was just one day. I woke up and I was like, oh, I speak Spanish. I speak Spanish so much that I can have a casual, really great conversation about so many different things. It's really cool. But I will say that it's one of the most vulnerable things that I've ever done in my life. It really pushed me because where I live, no one speaks English, and there were many moments where I was just, like, stuck in my mouth. I couldn't say what I wanted to do. But there's no Internet, there's no cell service. Google what I'm trying to say. And yeah, it was really an opportunity for growth. And what's so cool now is that I've had my first photography clients that only speak Spanish, so I've had to kind of, like, navigate that. Like talking about money, talking about posing people, queuing them, like, how to move their bodies, that kind of thing. So it's definitely a growth opportunity. And you can totally learn it. Like, you can totally learn French. It just takes a while, but you're immersed in it, so just immerse yourself in it. And there's also a website called Deepel. deepl.com. And it's the best translation. It's on my desktop, but yeah, Deepel, it's the best. That's what I use for everything because sometimes when I get better at Spanish, I lose some of my French. And for work, I have to do French presentations sometimes, and then I use Spanish words in my French presentation. And it's an international thing, so people are very sort of understanding and accommodating. But still, I'm just like floating between spanglish French English stuff. But that's exciting. That's a good goal. That's like a new exciting goal for you.

Ashley (Guest) 00:55:26

Yeah, and I think I've always put business goals at the forefront. Stuff that was really about my ego or my creativity. And language has never been something I don't think it's creative or it just doesn't sound fun to me. I'd almost rather train for a marathon.

Monique (Host) 00:55:48

Wow, that says a lot. Because you hate exercise, things like that. You hate exercising like that.

Ashley (Guest) 00:55:58

Really? I'm kind of dreading it, but I think it needs to happen. So this is me putting it out there to somebody who's not Alex, saying that you can I can do it.

Monique (Host) 00:56:10

There's got to be, like, English French cafe where it's like, cafe night and you can, like, go and, like, chitchat and that sort of thing. You need a friend.

Ashley (Guest) 00:56:20

I know.

Monique (Host) 00:56:21

I always had this dream, and I never knew how it would unfold, but it did unfold, so I'm really happy about it. I always had this dream to, like, learn a language by falling in love in such a magical, beautiful, sensual way, and it totally happened better than I ever could have imagined. I mean, you speak Spanish because your partner is Spanish. Alex. Your husband is Spanish? And I think that that will be complementary to you learning French. And the thing is that you can speak, like, bad French and people still know what you're talking about. Even when I lose myself in my Spanish and I'm like saying things backwards and in past tense when I mean future tense, still understand what I'm trying to get across. And it's just going to be a really long period of being really bad at French. And it's just part of it that's like, me, I'm really bad in Spanish, but I can speak it. And one day I'll get there.

Ashley (Guest) 00:57:38

Yeah, it's nice because you're in a community where, yeah, there is some English and there is some Spanish and people understand, they're like, I get it. I've never judged somebody for speaking English poorly. Why should I be afraid?

Monique (Host) 00:57:55

It's funny here because I can be like at the corner store, at the tienda and I'll be saying something and I get stuck on a word. Let's say that I get stuck on the word paintbrush. They'll be like and then I'll be like, where are the paint brushes? And I'll be like, I'll say Donnie Santos and I'll try and do with my hand. I'll be like, paintbrush pintura or whatever. But I'll say paint brushes. And the level of English here is so absolutely zero that people will be like, I don't know what you just said many things. It will be like very simple things, like apple, for example. If you'll be like, where is it?

Ashley (Guest) 00:58:38

Apple? Yeah.

Monique (Host) 00:58:41

It's just really interesting. So I think you're in good shape in Montreal. You just have to immerse yourself and put a little watching TV to reading not journals, but newspapers, like periodicals and stuff. I think that is helpful too. So well, I'm excited for you to go on your French journey, Ashley.

Ashley (Guest) 00:58:59

Cool. Yes.

Monique (Host) 00:59:01

Wow.

Ashley (Guest) 00:59:02

Jump into my ashley larry Ve, you know.

Monique (Host) 00:59:05

Oh, Larry. Yeah. And I just had my first singing lesson. That was so lovely. Yeah. Bumblebee.

Ashley (Guest) 00:59:16

What are your goals for your singing? To be able to sing a song that you feel confident about, general, all of it.

Monique (Host) 00:59:26

I want to develop my voice. I think it's the unlock to a lot of other creative bits of myself. I want to become more musical and I really love to sing. I love to sing, but I need a little bit more confidence and practice using my voice.

Ashley (Guest) 00:59:48

Yeah.

Monique (Host) 00:59:49

So, yeah, that's my goal. I guess it's just to like start the journey of being a musical mo.

Ashley (Guest) 00:59:58

Yes.

Monique (Host) 01:00:00

Do you ever hear Youth lately? Yeah. In the living room. Yeah. I might try and learn the guitar over the summer. Let's see. I don't know already. I'm like I don't know if that's a good idea.

Ashley (Guest) 01:00:12

But singing is so accessible, literally. You don't have to pick anything up, you just have to exercise it. And honestly, you could just sing along to songs. That counts as practicing in my book. Like just putting on yeah, because it's like well, it's like karaoke. But still, as long as you commit, it's really just about committing. You want to learn. That's the only way you learn it's just by doing it for singing. So I'm pretty sure that's how I learned to be a singer was just by singing songs all the time. Singing along to Celine Dion, singing along to Natalie Cole, singing along singers who are great. Not like stuff that involved like holding a note. Not like short little.

Monique (Host) 01:01:03

We tested my range and it's pretty good. It's really good. She was like, you can go higher than I can. And I was like, you're a singer? Cool. And she goes, and I don't think this is where your range ends. She goes she goes, this is very exciting. So yeah, I'm excited to play around. She said my range is from D to F, so I don't know what that is. Oh, shit.

Ashley (Guest) 01:01:30

If it's the F, that's like queen of the night. That's hard for me. That's the limit of my Ranger there. You got a nice ramming.

Monique (Host) 01:01:47

So fun. So lots of things to explore. And it feels really nice to learn something that I don't.

Ashley (Guest) 01:01:53

You got it.

Monique (Host) 01:01:54

Have to be a professional at. I don't need to make it into money or a thing. It's just like a fun thing on the side that I can do great. Yeah, I love that. Do you have any other things that you're looking forward to or like a shoot that you'd like to create or something that you're kind of looking forward.

Ashley (Guest) 01:02:15

To.

Monique (Host) 01:02:19

In the near future?

Ashley (Guest) 01:02:22

Yeah, I do have some shoots, like some work stuff that I'm excited about. This month I'm doing a creative with a model who I've had my eyes on for a while. She's finally in town, so I'm working with her on Saturday. I get to go to Toronto later this month to change the studio decor. And I'm kind of going for a different look.

Monique (Host) 01:02:47

Tell me what that is like, because this is a love podcast. Yeah. Is it darker?

Ashley (Guest) 01:02:54

Haha. Yes. So I'm writing more black. Yeah. Really interesting.

Monique (Host) 01:03:03

Yeah. I don't know why. I was just like, imagining like a black black, like marbled mantle and like a black kind of chair thing. And tell me.

Ashley (Guest) 01:03:19

You know how there's kind of like the Scandinavian influence of black accents? Like, I got black wishbone chairs. I got like a black lean rosette kind of accent chair as well. Some black lamps, like black with like, white and very neutral. Lots of textures, always lots of texture. But I really wanted that sort of dark feel. And it's getting like summer. You think that's a weird time to do that for summer? But actually people are shooting brands are shooting their fall and winter content in the summer. So I want to kind of make it it's not going to feel like fall in there. It's just going to feel like a different a little bit more moody.

Monique (Host) 01:04:08

Well, I love you. I wish you all of the wonderful things in the months ahead. I think we're going to be able to see each other at some point. So that's very exciting. Yeah. So thanks so much for chatting and taking the time.

Ashley (Guest) 01:04:28

Yeah. Oh, it's such a pleasure. Thank you for having me. And we'll always be here for the next episode and sharing with you and love and life with you. My sister wife from another country.

LINKS

Creative Alchemy’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/creativealchemypodcast/?hl=en

Ashley’s Website: https://www.klassh.ca/

Ashley’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kla_ssh/?hl=en

Monique’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/monique_pantel/?hl=en

Monique’s Website: https://www.pantelphoto.com/

Bianca’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rainbowsalt/?hl=en