Hi, I’m Rachel.

I’m an adventure lovin’, thrill seeking, photographer and writer based in Phoenix AZ, and Minneapolis, MN. My heart beats for cacti, city skylines, handcrafted old fashioneds and potatoes in any form.

In 2017 I lost my mom to suicide and spiraled down the awkward and emotionally isolating experience commonly referred to as grief. My story doesn’t exactly have an a-ha! moment because the light bulb that lit up for me was on a dimmer switch but since her death I slowly discovered that grief doesn’t happen in a vacuum, but alongside a mixture of all the other human emotions—joy, hope, fear, anger, and even love. Grief’s imprint taught me that life is precious and sparked me to quit my 9-5, uproot my life to the desert, and pursue my passion for creative storytelling full time.

Now I navigate life with my camera in one hand and a pen in the other and my blog is a mashup of love stories, brand stories, mental health and grief stories (it’s a niche), and my “real life” (I can’t make this shit up) stories. I bring heart and a little humor to even the toughest of stories and candidly share about a range of topics including living through loss, grief, and new beginnings, and how to run a creative based business.

Latest From The Blog

Posts tagged how to create an animated gif with your cell phone

Instagram Hacks: Stop Motion Stories

Photography, EducationRachel SmakJune 1, 2018animated gif tutorial, gif tutorial, gifs for your brand, grow your instagram engagement with stories, how to create a gif in instagram, how to create a gif with your phone, how to create a gif with your phone camera, how to create an animated gif, how to create an animated gif for your brand, how to create an animated gif in instagram stories, how to create an animated gif in instagram story mode, how to create an animated gif on instagram, how to create an animated gif with your cell phone, how to create stop motion videos, how to create stop motion videos in instagram, how to create stop motion videos in instagram story, instagram hacks, instagram stop motion tutorial, instagram stories hacks, instagram stories stop motion tutorial, instagram stories stop motion tutorial june 1st 2018, instagram stories tutorial, instagram story hacks, instagram story stop motion tutorial, instagram tutorial, instgram stop motion how to, stop motion videos for your brand