The story of a photographer
Hey all! My name is Courtney and I am the owner of CJW Photo! I have loved taking pictures for as long as I can remember! My mother can attest to this with all the film reels she had to have developed because of me! I was always taking pictures of all the critters we had on the farm, and I still do! I really got into photographing people my senior year of high school, and from there that’s when I decided to attend Ridgewater College in Willmar, Minnesota for professional photography. In 2020, I graduated with a 2 year degree in photography. However, after graduation I decided to pursue one of my other passions, and I started my degree in Ag Business, also at Ridgewater College.
I grew up in a small farming town of Clara City, Minnesota. Growing up, I spent most of my time on my families dairy farm, this is where my passion for agriculture and livestock flourished. Surprisingly, I did not have a horse growing up, trust me all the begging and puppy dog eyes I could muster up could not sway my dad into buying me a pony. It wasn’t until 2019, when this little neglected pony came trotting into the sale barn ring that I was actually able to convince my dad into letting me buy her. (Bet he still regrets taking me with that day.) And that’s where my love for equine photography started.
Picture on the left, below is of the day I brought home that little neglected pony which I later named Raven. She is now the fattest, sassiest, little pony you’ll ever meet.
Right out of high school I started working for a grain elevator in my home town, and that’s when I found my passion for agriculture. I then decided to combine my two passions and somehow turn it into a business. I had always thought that people wouldn’t care to see my agricultural photos, none the less my equine photography. To my surprise, people loved my work. So, I continued to build and grow my business to where I now get invited out to Arizona every winter to work with Kruger Performance Horses and most recently, I am now the official photographer for Miss Minnesota Rodeo 2022.
In my time off, I enjoy hanging out with my 3 German Shepherds; Leia, Hank, and June. In the summer you can usually find Hank and I out on one of our 3 mile walks every night.
I also enjoy working with livestock on the farm. I have my own heard of goats, which yes are all named lol. I also have laying hens, a couple ducks, and a very large amount of farm cats. I’ll be honest, cats aren’t my favorite. However I do have one cat that I started bottle feeding when she was three weeks old. She is now one year old and hates everyone but me. (Her name is Ivy btw) (like poison ivy.)
And believe it or not I enjoy taking pictures in my time off lol. Mostly of my animals.
