Hi, I am Lena!
Do I wear this sort of outfit every day? NO. The photo on the right is the national costume of Norway, called a Bunad. Each Bunad is unique and represents the part of the country where you are from. These are worn on special occasions, weddings, baptisms, confirmations and of course the National Independence Day, May 17.
In the late 1800’s/early 1900’s, my ancestors immigrated from Scandinavia to the United States of America in search of a better life. It was through their sacrifice and hard work that I get to have the opportunities and life I do today.
Since I was a young girl, I felt a calling in my heart to find a way back to the motherland and delve deeper into the stories, culture, traditions and languages of the ones we call family. I studied Scandinavian Studies and Fine Art at North Park University in Chicago, IL where my Swedish relatives also attended. With a camera in my hand, and over a decade of fields, fjords and fika living in Stockholm, Sweden and Oslo, Norway, I found myself back home in the "Danish Capital of America," Solvang, California.
I believe knowing where we come from helps make us feel whole as well as the importance of showing and telling these stories for generations to come.
We have had the honor to work with Lena twice now. First, she helped us surprise our two friends who were eloping in Santa Barbara. We contacted her pretty last minute and she was more than happy to help us out. She captured our friends' elopement so beautifully and truly went above and beyond to capture pictures at two locations for us. Her friendliness and professionalism made our friends feel so comfortable taking photos with her - which is very important when surprising someone with a photographer! Second, she helped capture our micro wedding after we decided to postpone our big wedding to 2022. All we can say is WOW. She photographed every single moment of our day so perfectly. She worked magic with capturing the personalities of both us and our guests. She captured moments during our wedding in ways we didn't even see with our own eyes that day. And the whole time she did it with the best and most cheerful attitude of any vendor we have ever worked with. Lena makes you feel like she is your friend and partner the instant you meet her and throughout the entire process. We can't recommend Lena enough as a photographer! We can't wait to work with her again for future life events!
-KELSEY
