Good Neighbor Podcast: Fort Collins
Bringing together local businesses and neighbors of Fort Collins. Good Neighbor Podcast hosted by Nick George helps residents discover and connect with your local business owners in and around Fort Collins, Colorado.
Is your business serving the residents of Fort Collins? Then, we need to talk! Visit gnpFortCollins.com to schedule your free interview.
Good Neighbor Podcast: Fort Collins
Behind the Lens with Stormy Gale
Photography has the power to preserve our most cherished moments and capture the beauty that surrounds us. Behind every powerful image is an artist with a unique perspective, and Abigail Garcia of Stormy Gale Photography is a perfect example of how diverse experiences shape artistic vision.
Abigail's path to professional photography is as distinctive as her business name. With a meteorology degree from Northern Illinois University, she transformed classroom jokes about "gale warnings" (a play on her name) into the perfect brand for her photography business. This scientific background gives her a unique perspective on capturing nature's beauty, particularly in the stunning Colorado landscapes she now calls home.
What truly sets Stormy Gale Photography apart is its two-pronged approach. On one side, Abigail creates breathtaking landscape and nature fine art photography, with one of her pieces featured in the "In Focus Women" coffee table book. On the other, she offers deeply meaningful family and pet photography, including specialized end-of-life pet portraits through the Tilly Project. These sensitive sessions provide families with beautiful, lasting memories of their beloved companions during their final days – a service that combines technical skill with profound compassion.
Beyond her artistic talents, Abigail is committed to using her business as a force for good. A portion of proceeds from Stormy Gale Photography supports Love FoCo, a Fort Collins nonprofit serving approximately 1,500 under-resourced families. "Yes, you as a customer get a beautiful image that brings color and light to your space, but your money is also going so much further – it's going to help somebody else," Abigail explains.
Discover Abigail's work on Facebook at Stormy Gale Photography, Instagram (@stormy_gale_fine_art and @stormy_gale_photography), or through her website stormygalephotography.com. Experience how one photographer is combining artistic vision, technical skill, and community service to create images that truly make a difference.
The place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Nick George.
Speaker 2:Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast. Are you in need of a photographer that does more than just the things that you think they do? That really is good at landscape and nature photography? Well, one might be closer than you think. Today, I have the great pleasure of introducing Abigail Garcia from Stormy Gale Photography. Abigail, how's it going?
Speaker 3:Good, how about you?
Speaker 2:Excellent. We're excited to have you on the show. We'd love to hear all about your company. Tell us about it.
Speaker 3:Yeah, this is great. Thank you. So, stormy Gale. Photography has got two parts. One is landscape, nature, so like fine art photography, and the other side is I work with families and pets, and then part of the pets and the families I do what are called end of life shoots, and so basically what that means is the client calls me or finds me on this, it's called the Tilly Project and basically they connect photographers who are specific in this area and with getting ready to lose their animal. So they call a photographer and we do a special photo shoot with them and their animal, or just their animal. Just a really nice way to say goodbye and have just these beautiful pictures, one I did. I drove down to Denver and did one for her cat and it was just very sweet to be there, you know, for people in that time, but also to like create beautiful pictures and memories for them.
Speaker 2:How did you get into this business, Abigail?
Speaker 3:Yes, so I've probably been photographing my whole life. I think I got a camera in like fourth or fifth grade. I was just always like fascinated by how the camera works and just the beauty around us. I grew up in Illinois, so a lot of green, which is awesome, a lot of corn, but it was just a lot of fun to try to find, you know, just the beauty and kind of the mundane. Now I live in Colorado and it's beautiful, so it's not hard to find that anymore.
Speaker 3:Um, but yeah, I just I've always loved photographing, I've always loved showing off what I've seen, you know, in this world and in the um, in the flowers and the trees and then in the sky, um, so Stormy Gale, photography is actually born from. I'm actually a meteorologist, so I'm actually a trained meteorologist. I studied at NIU, in Northern Illinois University, and I got my degree in meteorology and I actually work for the state of Wyoming right now alongside running the business. And when I was going to school I really struggled with like math. That was just like very hard for me.
Speaker 3:But, I picked meteorology. I needed to know why storms formed and all that. And so I was going to work for the weather service and my friends would issue what are called gale watches or warnings, when I would get frustrated with our math problems. So they'd be like, because my name is abigail and so they would turn it into gale, and they were like, oh, we're gonna issue, you know, a gale watch, and a gale is just a really strong wind and right then when I'd like really get fresh in, I couldn't figure it out.
Speaker 3:They'd be like, oh, I think we need to upgrade it to a warning, and yeah, I just was like all right, I think that's the name of the business and Stormy was something I was always called when people learned that I was going into meteorology and I just thought that that would just be a perfect way. Perfect name, that's still me but, you know, also gets to be a little more unique. You don't hear that name very much.
Speaker 2:No, you're right. What are some Abigail, what are some myths or misconceptions in your line of work?
Speaker 3:A lot of people believe that you have to have the best camera or you have to have the best iPhone or whatever to take pictures, and I just want to show people that you really don't. You really like the talent is in you and your eye and your, whether you perceive things, and I think there's a quote a camera, what it is, but it was like your best camera is the one you have with you. Um, now, if you want to blow up the photos and you want to do you know big pieces and what I'd like to do then you know you might have, might have to put some investment into it, but you know, I've seen fantastic photos just on people's phones and so, yeah, it's just. I like how photography teaches you to notice things, and when we notice things, and especially when they're good or, you know, positive, you, you know we're able to see them more often. Our brain works that way where our brain tries to find what you, what you think, is right, um, in in the world. So, yeah, that's really cool.
Speaker 2:That was a really interesting, interesting aspect of your niche that I hadn't even thought about. Pet end of life for pets, um, makes a lot of sense, but, um, I feel like that's not your target market, but especially doing nature and landscape. So, knowing that marketing is the heart of every business, I guess a question that some curious minds would want to know is for someone who's really good at landscapes and nature photography, who's your target customer and how do you reach out to them now?
Speaker 3:Who's your target customer and how do you reach out to them now? So that I am still learning. The business was officially registered in July of 2024. But I'm looking. I think the target audience is going to be people with homeowners probably homeowners and like business owners, you know that are looking for maybe a higher value of fine art and that's unique, something that you know. This changing world, in this world of AI, it's like, no, I'm not letting AI touch any of my stuff, cause I want it to be. You know, I want you to be excited that you have a piece of mine. Um, I want you to be able to look at it and to be like, yeah, that's an Abigail Garcia or Stormy Gale photography. Um, so that's kind of um, looking probably more for, like I said. So that's kind of I'm looking probably more for, like I said, homeowners, business owners, people who just want to bring that natural beauty of nature into their into their spaces?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm sure that you already have a portfolio of work. Have you ever thought about doing a few podcasts that highlight?
Speaker 3:your pieces and how you arrived at them. I have actually kind of had that on my heart and on my mind, that, and then even potentially making like a coffee table book. There's this one organization that's more dedicated to helping landscape and nature photographers who are women and trying to get their stuff out, and so I actually have a photo in one of their coffee table books, and so I think that would be super fun and maybe give a little blurb about. People seem to really enjoy the story behind how I got the photo, so I think that would definitely be something you want to go ahead and plug that.
Speaker 2:Now what the coffee table book is, got the photo, so I think that would definitely be something you want to go ahead and plug that now what the coffee table book is and which photo it is.
Speaker 3:Sure, oh geez, I think it's called In Focus Women and my photo is I think it's the walk in the sunflowers or something like that, but it's a big, beautiful photo of the horizon and then you've got sunflowers like all over the place and didn't get any mountains in the background. But I do like the simplicity of just the sky and the sunflowers.
Speaker 2:Outside of what you call work, what do you do for fun?
Speaker 3:Yes, so I actually. I'm actually a classically trained singer, so I sing at my church and sometimes I'll do. When I was younger and in my community I grew up in, I would do songs for like funerals and weddings. Weddings, I did some Christmas songs and then, I don't know, I've been thinking about maybe going doing an open mic or something like that. Yeah, um and uh, I have a dog and a cat so I love to hang out with them and, um, my husband and I just like to be outside so we paddleboard, um, we go hiking, um, we're really into pickleball my husband probably more than me, but just like being outside. And I mean, it's just such a beautiful place that we live Like we just have to take advantage of it.
Speaker 2:Right, that's almost normal in Colorado, abigail, please tell our listeners one takeaway, one thing they should absolutely remember about our get together here, about Stormy Gale photography.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so one of the reasons for starting the business was I love photography and I wanted to make a business out of it. But I have gone on and recently went on a mission trip, and I just have keep, I keep getting, or I keep noticing the different nonprofits and people who you know, just the people who need help, who need finances resources. You know just the people who need help, who need finances resources. My dream for the business would be to, yes, you as a collector or as a customer, yes, you get a beautiful image and it's going to bring color and light to your space, but your money is also going so much further, your space, but your money is also going so much further, like it's going to help somebody else. Um, right now, we have a love. Foco is um a nonprofit that I'm giving to right now and I just it's a way to, you know make the business more than just selling photos. I just I really want to reach out to others and care for others and um, still do what I love.
Speaker 2:So that's awesome. What does love Foco do? So we know where the money's going.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so love Foco is a nonprofit, local nonprofit to Fort Collins and it will serve I think it's like 1500,500 under-resourced families. We're going to have our church that I go to me and my husband go to. They got donated a building and we've been renovating it and getting it ready and what it will do is it will house other nonprofits and so basically it will be kind of a one-stop shop for somebody who is needing resources. So, you know, um, I think there's going to be some um like parenting classes. I think there's going to be like a boutique for, you know, mothers, um having babies. Um, there's a lot of car care service, health care. Language will be offered there, I think, maybe a couple I haven't talked about it too much and something that they can, you know, look back on and cherish.
Speaker 2:Abigail, how can our listeners learn more about Stormy Gale Photography and all of the different ways that they can see your work and what you do online?
Speaker 3:do online. So I am on Facebook at Stormy Gale Photography just, you know spaces in between the words. And then the fine art side of my Instagram is Stormy Gale underscore fine art, and then the people animal side is stormy underscore, Gail underscore photography. And then you can just reach out to me specifically at stormygalephotography at gmailcom.
Speaker 2:That's easy.
Speaker 3:Oh, and I have a website Same kind of thing stormygalephotographycom.
Speaker 2:Awesome. Well, Abigail, we really appreciate you being on our show and we wish you and Stormy Gale Photography the very best moving forward.
Speaker 3:Awesome. Thank you so much.
Speaker 2:Thank you.
Speaker 1:Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to GNPFCollinscom. That's GNPfortCollinscom, or call 970-438-0825.