Meet One of the Best Artists in the Pacific Northwest

One of the great things about being a travel writer is discovering and getting to know some of the amazing people you encounter as part of your job. It is these chance encounters of meeting interesting people and getting to hear their stories – where they came from and how they came to be where they are. 

People like Sterling Rose Rung.

The town of Bellingham, Washington, up near the Canadian border, has many artists, and Sterling is one of them. She (much like myself) worked in the corporate world for years and realized that it wasn’t for her. She did what so many other creatives have done – busted out of the 9 to 5 and followed their dreams and their passions. She doesn’t express her talents through sculpture, or with a paintbrush, or with performance. She expresses herself through the lens of her camera. But that’s not all!

An Amazing Photoshoot Experience

Not only does she produce stunning photography, she enhances her photoshoots by offering something else that no other photographer does – a window into peace and calm. Sterling is also a mindfulness practitioner, and she incorporates those skills into her photoshoots.

When I first met Sterling at the location of our photoshoot in Powell Butte Nature Park in Portland, she immediately struck me as someone who knew her stuff. She put me at ease with her smile and her easy-going personality. I admit I was feeling pretty anxious about this photoshoot. I am used to being behind the camera with my amateur ways, photographing for this website, and being a producer on photoshoots during my corporate life. I have never been the subject of a professional photoshoot. Nope, not even Glamour Shots.

So I was nervous. Little did I know I would soon be so completely relaxed that the photoshoot would turn into one of the most fun activities I’d done in long while.

We turned off the trail, headed into a field, and laid down a couple of blankets. It was a sunny day, with Mt. Hood and Mt. Saint Helens far off in the background, Sterling led me through some exercises in breathwork. It was just the sort of meditation I needed to center and calm me. Closing my eyes and following her lead, when it was over, I felt so relaxed that I was ready to take on whatever she threw at me. Then we did some fun shots along the bluff, and further into the park.

Sterling is a true artist with some amazing ideas. Just look at her website. She perfectly captured the essence of Explorer Sue and you will see her handiwork not only in this post, but throughout my site. And the best part is? She travels just like I do! So if you are looking for an amazing photographer, she does not stick to the Bellingham area. 

Did You Know?

Over 80% of Americans live in urban areas, and a great many of those people don’t have access to adequate green spaces. Consequently, stress-related illnesses are on the rise everywhere. Sterling recognized this and has made it her mission to reconnect people to wild spaces by harnessing the healing powers of nature. In her artful sessions, she implements the principles of the Japanese concept of ‘Forest Bathing’ to calm the nervous system, reduce stress and anxiety, and create a deeper connection to the self.

I can tell you first hand that it works! It makes for a truly unique photo session where the collaborative effort is centered on creativity, heart-opening, and inner growth.

With her formal education in landscape architecture, she spent the majority of her young adulthood working at a fast-paced design firm up and down the west coast. After several years of feeling burnt out, she left the corporate design world for a more heart-centered calling – marrying her love for mindfulness and nature with her talents in the arts. She is a certified breathwork instructor, and she offers one-of-a-kind healing and expressive experiences, empowering people to reveal their inner creator.

I invite you to visit Sterling’s website and check out her amazing services.

Her goal is to bring people back to the simplicity and grace of nature, to inspire and empower them to feel strong and beautiful in their bodies, and realizing that they too are a work of art.