Behind the Lens - Natasha Mila

Meet our first feature for Behind the Lens, Natasha Mila. Let's take a look at the Nordic Lens community's incredible photographers and discover the stories behind their favorite photos.

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Jan 14, 2024

Welcome to the first issue of Behind the Lens, a series that shines the spotlight on the talented artists of our Nordic Lens community. This series delves into the work and perspectives of one member at a time, offering a unique glimpse into the diversity of our community.

In contrast to traditional interview formats, Behind the Lens empowers artists to showcase their creativity and share the stories behind their favorite photographs.

After all, who better to narrate the tale than the person behind the lens?

What is Behind the Lens?

At the heart of Behind the Lens is a simple concept: Community members share their favorite photos and provide insights into why these images hold special meaning.

This opportunity allows us to explore the depth and richness of our community through the lens of its creators.

Those featured in the series have the freedom to choose works that resonate deeply, whether they're recent creations, all-time favorites, personal or professional, or a combination of all four. This flexibility ensures a genuine representation of each artist's journey and evolution within the community and beyond.

There are limitations to it, however—they must do it in 5 photos or less. This adds a personal, authentic, and intriguing touch. It compels them to choose and encourages them to be as mindful as possible about their favorite photos.

Behind the Lens is not your average interview series as it is consciously kept as personal as possible to preserve authenticity, the focus is solely on the photographers and their photos.

This fosters a more personal connection between the community and its members, allowing us to appreciate the richness of talent within Nordic Lens.

By offering a platform for members to share their favorite photos and personal insights behind them, Behind the Lens aims to inspire, connect, and deepen appreciation for the community's exceptional pool of talent.

Unlike the bi-weekly photo challenges that highlight the best submissions, Behind the Lens celebrates the authenticity of individual expression.

Our first feature is Natasha Mila, whose work embodies the beauty and rawness that we strive to capture in this series.

So let's welcome Natasha and have her introduce us to her favorite photos.

Natasha Mila

Mom, writer, photographer, poet, amateur of a lot of things. I write words and poetry on life's bewildering beauty. And am a forever learner of simplifying pieces of its chaos.

Find Natasha on Instagram as well as on Pinterest.

Natasha's Five Favorite Photos

This is a recent self portrait. I try my best to find time to take self portraits with or without my kids. As a mother and photographer, I understand the ease of snapping photos of our children and the difficulty of turning the camera around.

This year, I'm using a 52 week prompted challenge and making it my personal goal to turn as many prompts as possible into self portraits.

I'm a fan of untraditional photos of our children. This photo, along with a few others, is one of the first times I attempted motion in my photography.

After this, I've never turned back and use this trick regularly.

This is another untraditional portrait of our children. Childhood, like adulthood, is packed with the gamut of emotions.

I understand the challenge of having your camera out when your children are in the middle of a frustrating emotion, but if the opportunity ever presents itself to stop time inside of these moments in addition to their more cheerful counterparts, do not miss that opportunity.

It's much easier to catch children than adults in a genuine moment. When adults see the camera, they tend to smile or look away or make a silly face.

My favorite advice--patience. Just wait. Be ready and wait for the moment.

This is one of my favorite photos. When our oldest was a little younger, she would have spent the entire summer in the nude if we let her.

In this photo, because there was no shirt to put them on, she decided to stick puffy stickers directly to her skin as decoration. Just another reminder here to capture the odd things.

Thank You, Natasha!

Natasha's approach – honest, relatable, and unfiltered – makes her the perfect first feature for this series.

Behind the Lens aims to showcase the authenticity of Nordic Lens members, whether it's through unfiltered photos, professionally edited works, or nostalgic memories and Natasha nails it.

I want to provide a platform for community members to express themselves honestly, personally, or professionally, revealing what makes them tick.

I am incredibly grateful to Natasha for accepting my invitation and for kicking off this series so strongly.

Her work is inspirational, and I can't wait to explore the creativity of more Nordic Lens members through Behind the Lens.

Don’t forget to subscribe to Natasha's publication, casual simplicity and don’t forget to give her a follow on Instagram and Pinterest while you’re at it.

You won't regret it.