Hiya, I'm Monika!
I came to the Alberta foothills the long way around.
I'm a ranch hand by day and an artist by the light that's left. I work the land — feeding, fixing, taking care of horses, learning what the country actually sounds like when it's quiet. The camera comes out when the work is done, or sometimes before it starts, when the frost is still on the grass and the mug of coffee slowly warms my hands.
My love affair with this way of life started early. I spent years working the Calgary Stampede as a youth, watching the cowboys and the livestock and quietly deciding that world was something I wanted to be a part of. The finality came on the many drives through Longview, heading south toward the Crowsnest Pass — sweeping vistas, rolling hills, that big Alberta sky, the Rockies stacked up to the west. That was it. I knew I was home.
Now I paint & shoot the land I love, the land that feeds my family, and the land that fills my soul.
I'm glad you're here.