I had an article come out in the @latimes today about the tintype project I’ve been working on. Thank you @marahe for highlighting stories of healing in Altadena.
I had no idea when I started this project 2 months ago it would grow into what it has. I’ve taken nearly 150 portraits of families who lost their homes in Altadena, and while it’s not been easy, it has been greatly rewarding to my soul. I’ve found a profound healing through community connection and shared sense of loss through this whole process. I’m sort of in awe of this moment and feeling really proud of this beautiful body of work.
I will continue taking portraits through the month of May, with the booking link in my bio. Article link in my bio too!
Thank you @margaretmuza for being my mentor and sister through this journey and thank you @tintypesbyconrad and @e.l.haines for donating these cameras to me after losing my babies in the fire.
Thanks to everyone who’s booked a portrait and shared their energy and time. ❤️🙏🏼❤️
Come to @iphotofestival this weekend 🎞️ a 2 day celebration of photography, community and visual culture in Inglewood. I’m honored to be exhibiting alongside @yourpalmarcus another Altadena large format photographer, in a special Altadena exhibit. We met last year exchanging large format shots of one another, who knew a year later we’d be exhibiting this work and speaking about it on a panel. The panel is Saturday at 4pm moderated by @everard_williams
Special speakers and exhibitions all weekend.
Noon - 7pm
LINK IN BIO TO RSVP
Another historical gem that was destroyed on that fateful night. The Theosophical Library, which was founded in 1951 and filled w/ 40,000 volumes, thousands of sacred texts, and very rare materials.
I read an article about a woman in Angelino Heights who was out walking her dog a few days after the fire and found a burnt fragment of paper on the ground, and after having it analyzed, discovered it had come from the Theosophical library , it floated 11 miles from Altadena in those wild Santa Ana winds.
I found the crest above the door to be especially beautiful and wished they could have saved it.
Something that did not burn on the other hand is the Theosophy branches main headquarters just a few blocks down, where they hosted events and gatherings. It also houses this panting on slide 3 called The Path, painted by Reginald W Machell in 1895, and it represents the journey of the human soul, which I find to be very profound.
What a journey our souls are on, what a gift it is to be a witness to this life. Sorrow and joy, grief, and gratitude side-by-side. It requires a familiarity with both sorrow and joy to fully encompass the full range of being human.
What a gift to be able to document these places, I was in it so deep, reflecting back on that time brings both sorrow and joy ☯️
Sunny Mills is coming to IPF 2026.
We’re excited to welcome Sunny Mills @sunshine_acid to the Inglewood Photo Festival on May 16–17, 2026, as a featured exhibiting artist and panelist.
Sunny’s work brings sensitivity, atmosphere, and urgency to the photographic image, and we’re honored to have her be part of this year’s exhibition and panel program.
Join us in Inglewood for a weekend of photography, conversation, and culture.
RSVP — link in bio.
#InglewoodPhotoFestival #IPF2026 #SunnyMills
🔊 TINTYPE POPUP: this Saturday I’ll be setting up my mobile portrait studio for @scoutgillett album release show at @nonplusultrala with special guests @dollycreamer + @orilllia
I will be offering 4x5 portraits, if you like you can pre-book at the Calendly link in my bio, but I’ll be taking walk ups all night. Come say hey and get immortalized on this historic photographic medium all made on the spot with alchemy and love.
Thank you for having me @alchemyartistsmgmt
I love this tintype of my sister @saebybaby we made a portrait but I wanted a flower frame so we made a portrait of a portrait and she is just stunning! 🌺
This is Kelly @citizenbong an incredible artist who lost her home and studio in the Eaton fire. She grew up spending holidays at her Aunt Georgi’s place in Altadena and she always knew how special this town was and that it would one day be her home.
In 2021, she was thrilled to buy her home, a 1926 Spanish Bungalow w/ a 2000’s era studio addition designed and built by LA artists Marnie Weber and Jim Shaw with architect Erik Olson.
Kelly was a proud steward of her home and is rebuilding to live there once again, alongside her friends and neighbors who she remains close with during this period of change and rebirth.
Altadena called to artists and creative types bc there’s something magical in the air that’s hard to explain. It has a rich history and an allure to escape the chaos of city life, yet remain close enough to still feel its pulse. It will always be that special place even with a new face, new stories will be told and new memories made. It can only be stronger after all this pain. ❤️
It was really fun meeting artist @kevin_titzer and his massive sculptures using all repurposed materials or junk as some might call it. There’s so much free material available if you’re creative enough to see beauty in what someone else thought was trash.
If you’re out in the desert stop by @hwy_sanctuary and see his work in person, it’s incredible.
Thanks @shrineon for having me out and for creating this magical little slice of desert whimsy ✨
This time last year I was in the throes of what started off as a simple self portrait. That idea evolved into one of the most meaningful projects of my life. I’m just a humble being who lost everything in that stupid fire, I never intended to start a project nor did I envision making a book, but the journey became clearer the more I stepped into the unknown.
Those 4 months I spent in the burn zone are forever etched into my soul. In that time I made over 400 tintypes in Altadena and I simply cannot bear to let this body of work sit on the shelf.
The world is in chaos mode, but we must keep living, this project gives me something to hold on to. I know I’m in the right hands to make something significant out of this work, it is a historic documentation of the lives touched by this fire and its for the collective memory of the community. Please keep sharing, your support means everything to me.
LINK IN BIO TO DONATE OR SHARE ❤️
This is a tough one, the Altadena Hardware store became home very quickly. A beloved 90 year old institution that was a staple in the community, a place where they remembered your name when you walked in the door. Sometimes I’d be harebrained on a project and have to go there three times in one day, and I was always grateful that it was so close.
The facade came down last week in the little windstorm that swept through the foothills, one that was so triggering I had to leave town for a night. I fear the wind will be an adversary for years to come.
It is an honor to have captured these images so we remember how much was truly taken from the community in this fire, and so we remember to honor the past, and rebuild with intention and love for bringing it back.
I am still raising funds to turn these tintypes into a book, a collective memorial of our community and its fallen places. These stories can’t be forgotten. ❤️🩹
(Color photos and video borrowed from posts in Beautiful Altadena on FB)
This is a tintype of ‘ground zero’ of the Eaton Fire. You can faintly see the set of power lines in the center of the photo, where the faulty line sparked and ignited one of the worst urban fires in US history. Getting this shot felt like a must in my documenting process.
Seeing the scorched hills turn from brown back to green over the past year has been a miracle and reminder that the only constant in life is change.
I’ve been going through changes too and finally moved into a home after being displaced for over a year, and my nervous system already feels much more at ease. I’ve been juggling a lot while dealing with so much under the surface, and this finally feels like the beginning of my next chapter.
Again, I am still raising funds for the Altadena tintype book to come to life, and we’ve reached the half way mark. Thank you so much to everyone who’s donated and shared so far, you are a part of making this happen and ensuring this historic documentation is preserved for the community and the future.
I had a recent shoot at @gibsonranchla with @westernwellness.socialclub and it was my first time making tintypes with horses. If you know me well enough you know I’m a day one horse girlie so this was type 1 fun for me!
Thank you @lovealwaysnat for having me and thank you @saebybaby for being my BTS bestie.
I’d love to do more horse shoots so please dial me in, I need to balance my Altadena tintype project with some wholesome animal portraits.
