Courtney Foy is a nature and wildlife photographer, writer, and creative coach based in Arvada, Colorado. Artistic ability coming naturally to her at an early age, she developed skill in both the musical and visual arts. Just now beginning her professional artistic pursuits in her early 40s, Foy's path has been more traditional, working in philanthropy and fundraising for nonprofits after earning a bachelor's degree in Sociology and a graduate certificate in Grantsmanship. Having given the past ten+ years to this effort, but now working to overcome creative repression, complete burnout, a long history of trauma, and a struggle with suicidality, she is turning her focus back to the arts and a more direct service to her community.
Foy believes that nature, art, and the written word have the power to address our current social and mental health crises. As more research shows just how important the natural life cycles of the land we inhabit impact our own bodies, minds, and relationships - with each other, the rest of the animal kingdom, and ourselves - Foy is working to show this to the world through her images. While nature provides many specific things for the prosperity of humans and other animals, Courtney is focusing on a more human benefit: Awe.
When one is willing to offer it their presence, being in nature can produce the most powerful of healing medicines - the feeling of awe. Awe is a natural phenomenon that triggers the release of serotonin into the body, producing secondary feelings such as relaxation, elation, connection to something bigger than ourselves, joy, and gratitude. It is the use of awe as a tool to access these feelings (particularly gratitude) which Foy believes helps the individual become more empathetic, generous, and connected on a spiritual level with the rest of humanity and the universe itself.
Foy's Hope: by coming back to the land - nature - we come back to ourselves. We honor those who inhabited the land under our feet before us, acknowledging the deeps wounds there, and we turn to a more protective mindset around that land, those memories, and what the future will hold for the state of the place that sustains us and the rest of the animal and plant kingdoms. We realize that the land does not belong to us - that we belong to the land. That we are a small part of a universal ecology, and through the extraordinary gifts given to humanity on Earth, are meant to be its caretakers.
Foy currently licenses and sells prints of her images to both institutional and personal clients. She also writes a quarterly publication featuring her photography, called Seeking Awe, from which articles are released on Substack every two weeks. Foy is a proud Art for Our Parks Ambassador, through which she has pledged 10% of the proceeds from her images of Rocky Mountain National Park to the Rocky Mountain Conservancy. She is always looking for collaborations and new ways to create and share work. If you are interested in licensing/purchasing work, or if you are interested in working with Courtney, please contact her directly at courtneyfoyphotography@outlook.com.