By JULIE CARLE
BG Independent News
Cheryl Hagemeyer-Vetter wakes up every morning and jumps out of bed to see what gifts await outside the expansive wall of windows at her rural Bowling Green log cabin.
The sunrise over Lake Louise, a seven-acre pond behind the log cabin that she and her husband Tony Vetter had built 20 years ago, is usually the source of her inspiration.
The light and colors of the morning sky, interesting cloud formations or the sparkle from the water whether frozen or flowing usually will lure her to start the day with an impromptu photography session. Or if the inspiration is not there for the day, she may opt to crawl back into bed to catch a few more zzzs before heading into work at her nearby business, Hagemeyer Fine Photography.
“It’s such a great way to wake up. I don’t drink coffee; I don’t do anything. That’s my morning routine,” she said. She heads out onto the deck, usually in her pajamas and robe, and depending on what she sees, she might take two or three photos or maybe 50 or 60.
With the wall of windows facing the pond, Hagemeyer-Vetter has the luxury of being able to keep her eyes on the dawning (as well as the ending) of the day. “Sometimes it just keeps getting better and better,” she said. “Sometimes the view is best a half hour before sunrise or sometimes it’s best a half hour after.”
Not knowing exactly what Lake Louise will share–that element of surprise–is part of the daily gift she graciously accepts.
In turn, she has come to share that gift with others by posting her always-mesmerizing photos of Lake Louise and other inspirations from nature on her Facebook page.
The story of Lake Louise
Lake Louise is a nod to her Aunt Louise (Hagemeyer) Smith, whose husband Bill grew up in the farmhouse that is near the photography studio, the log cabin and the pond.
“She was born in 1919 and was my dad’s oldest sister who lived to 95,” and helped with crafts at Wood Haven well into her 90s, Hagemeyer-Vetter said.
“She was amazing, super fun to be around, and cared about other people,” she said about her aunt. “When I was a kid, we would come fishing in the pond that was the result of the I-75 overpass and stocked with fish from the university. It’s funny that I ended up here.”
She and her husband have restored the victrola from Aunt Louise’s house and placed it in a prime location inside the log cabin. They have planted 200 trees, and Vetter painstakingly spent two summers hauling in stone to keep the pond from eroding one to two feet a year from northwest Ohio’s unrelenting winds.
The aura of Lake Louise is constantly changing–from the location of the sun where it rises and sets every day and the surrounding colors to the clouds and the seasons.
“Even though I am photographing the same location over and over and over again, it amazes me how much it changes. All of those things are new every day,” she said. “I didn’t realize it would be significantly different from day to day.”
In the 20 years they have lived on the property, she has gained an appreciation for the backdrop of Lake Louise. Seeing the moon sparkle on the pond at night and in the sun is awe-inspiring.
“I know it is just a pond, but I have become very connected to that water,” she said. “Now when Tony and I look at it we say, ‘Wow! We are pretty lucky.”
It’s not a job. It’s a joy
Hagemeyer-Vetter loves her career as the talent behind the camera at Hagemeyer Fine Photography. She’s been at it for 38 years, taking tens of thousands of portraits of high school seniors, children, families, couples, expectant mothers/families, newborns, and professionals.
“We are in such a great community and have such great support. Our names are on the door, and we are dedicated to doing our best job down there every single day,” she said.
In the studio or off-site, she had years when she photographed upwards of 700 sessions a year. While the pace has slowed down, those were the days she was crazy-busy.
“We would go to seminars that would tell us: ‘Go take time and photograph on your own, something that you want to photograph, not something you are working on,’” she said. “It was always on the list, but there was never time to do it.”
Lately, work has slowed down a bit. “I’m not complaining. It’s part of where I am in my life right now, getting closer to retirement,” she said. “I can allow myself to take time to not live life in a crazy state all the time.”
That slight pause in the hectic business routine, has allowed her to be more creative in her business photography and her pleasure photography of Lake Louise and nature that she captures on her frequent bike rides and travel adventures.
What used to be five photo sessions a day, one every two hours, has slowed a bit. Now, she makes time to photograph the pleasures in life and nature.
“I love nature and love being in nature, and one of the reasons I bike all the time,” she said. “It keeps me in the present and remembering what’s important. Seeing those gifts and blessings every day is pretty impactful.”
She distinguishes the two modes of photography, in part, by using the fancy cameras, lenses, lights and equipment for the business photography. And for the nature photography, whether in her backyard, on a trip with her husband, or when she is riding her bike on the Slippery Elm Trail, she simply pulls out her phone and uses the phone camera.
“That’s the good thing about cellphones because a camera is always with us,” she said, adding that the quality of photographs continues to improve as the phones improve.
She doesn’t want Lake Louise and nature photography to be work, which is why she uses her phone for those images.
After taking photos on the camera, she has learned the value of reviewing all of the images, picking a few of her favorites and deleting the rest. She might enhance the photos with programs on her phone, or sometimes, the image she captures says it all.
The zen of nature and photography
Hagemeyer-Vetter refers to biking as her inner chapel.
“It’s a time to pray, connect and slow down in life,” she said. “It is interesting. The more you take time to do those kinds of things, the more time you have. Everything else seems to just fall into place.”
As one of six generations to attend Hope Lutheran Church, she admits faith is important to her life, her work and her time in nature.
“I come from a family of deep faith and deep roots in the area,” she said. “The first thought out of my head every morning is ‘Good morning, God. Thank you for today.”
When she steps outside her log cabin to see what the gift is for the day, she knows that he always answers. “It’s whether we slow down enough to notice it,” she said.
That is exactly one of the reasons she takes the photos and “gives them away every day on Facebook,” she said. She does also have an Etsy site for her nature photography as a way to offer high-resolution prints of the scenery she sees daily in nature.
One of her goals is to encourage people to take time to notice a few of the millions of miracles happening around us every day.
“We walk by stuff all the time. We get caught up in life and decide that’s what we are here for,” she said. “But that’s not what we are here for. There’s so much more than the rat race.”
She and her sister (and business manager) Kathy Wilhelm have discussed whether Hagemeyer-Vetter should post her photography on Facebook.
“In my photography business, it’s not about giving it away but charging for my talent,” she said. “But I do think there is so much negativity on social media. I feel compelled to put something positive out there on a daily basis, for me and others.”
She posts daily thanks to a lesson she learned from her parents, Maxine and Carl Hagemeyer, “You can get frustrated or you can focus on the light rather than the dark. That’s why I post daily: because I think all of us can do a better job at looking at what unifies us rather than what divides us.
