Stanley Mills's guest appearances

Stanley Mills

Talking to Strangers (About Music)

Interesting Humans

Edward Lee

Phoebe Bridgers

James Yang

Krisstina Wise

Nick Hansen

Tracy Anderson

Mark Willis

Liz Crowe

David Zinn

Diann Wingert

Sean Qualls

Jonathan Blum

Keith Kelly

Matt Keating

Jane Slade

OwlTail

Believing in yourself can be a hard thing. With Stanley Mills' sure smile and easy laugh, and his gentle prodding, it seems easier. Stanley has been a personal trainer for over 20 years, though his body seems to defy that that's even possible! It is his physique that is physically impressive, but it is his amazing positivity that really drives one forward. I can hear his voice in my head sometimes, "You can do it Steph..." Everyone in my family except my oldest son has used Stanley as a trainer at the Y. I worried about him during the pandemic, and recently reached out when I heard the Y was finally opening so that I could book him for some sessions. It turns out they are not bringing him back in this first phase, but we agreed to meet separately, outside. We were the first clients he'd trained in nearly six months, and--for Stanley, whose life mission is clearly to help motivate others--it was a looooooong lull. Our session jumpstarted him to start seeing clients again, and we are so glad he is!! It is an important time for people to believe in the strength of their own bodies and minds, to work with someone if they have to in order to get focused and find their way forward after/during this strange time of uncertainty. There are certain people who can make you feel grounded and great and inspired, and Stanley is one of them. "We can't do this alone," he says in our brief chat. And it's true. Email me at stephsthompson@gmail.com if you want to reach out to Stanley for a session! 

Believing in yourself can be a hard thing. With Stanley Mills' sure smile and easy laugh, and his gentle prodding, it seems easier. Stanley has been a personal trainer for over 20 years, though his body seems to defy that that's even possible! It is his physique that is physically impressive, but it is his amazing positivity that really drives one forward.  I can hear his voice in my head sometimes, "You can do it Steph..."  Everyone in my family except my oldest son has used Stanley as a trainer at the Y. I worried about him during the pandemic, and recently reached out when I heard the Y was finally opening so that I could book him for some sessions. It turns out they are not bringing him back in this first phase, but we agreed to meet separately, outside. We were the first clients he'd trained in nearly six months, and--for Stanley, whose life mission is clearly to help motivate others--it was a looooooong lull. Our session jumpstarted him to start seeing clients again, and we are so glad he is!! It is an important time for people to believe in the strength of their own bodies and minds, to work with someone if they have to in order to get focused and find their way forward after/during this strange time of uncertainty. There are certain people who can make you feel grounded and great and inspired, and Stanley is one of them. "We can't do this alone," he says in our brief chat. And it's true. Email me at stephsthompson@gmail.com if you want to reach out to Stanley for a session!

Trainer Stanley Mills: Believe, and the Body will Follow

Kendra Stanley

If you saw Kendra Stanley Mills’ photographs you’d be impressed but you would have no idea of the story of how this incredible artist found her place behind a camera lens.Kendra is a combination of extreme humility and equally big artistic talent. It might have something to with the way she was raised, having spent some time in rural Kentucky as a kid with her “hippie, Mother Earth News” parents living in a one room house with no running water and no toilet, that instilled in Kendra an ingenuity and a stubborn persistence to stay with things and make due with what’s there. As Kendra says, “I’m certain that the way I grew up has a direct correlation to why I became a photographer. My childhood was part “Little House on the Prairie” and part Woodstock. I had an outhouse, no running water, a milk cow, a wood cook stove and no television until middle school...We told stories, listened to old vinyl records, had chores (a lot of chores!) and more adventures than I can count.”She has such fondness for those times that she and her husband Jon Mills moved the log cabin she lived in in Kentucky as a little girl to the property they live on in Montague, MI. From these humble beginnings Kendra eventually became a photojournalist for the Muskegon (Michigan) Chronicle and today is a portrait photographer of unique talent. Kendra’s photographs are infused with artistic elements, lines, geometry while still putting her subjects in the spotlight. The geometric elements are done so well and so deliberately yet so subtly they become elegant backdrops that enhance images rather than overpower. Our interview was conducted last February pre-coronavirus at her studio office in North Muskegon, the same town where she go her start as an intern for the Muskegon Chronicle. You might hear some hissing—that’s the steam running through the pipes that heated the building. Kendra won the internship just out of college even though as she recounts, “the editors thought others had more talent” but loved that she had a kind of courage. Over the course of her 13 years as a photojournalist Kendra refined a personal style as a newspaper photographer. Sometimes it was uncomfortable documenting the tragedies and hardships of her subject about which the reporters were writing. Kendra recounts the irony of her current business as a portrait photographer because when she started her editor told her her portraits were the weakest work she turned in. “So he made me go out and do every portrait photo assignment I could get so I could get better,” she says.In addition portrait photography where she shoots weddings, families and individual portraits, Kendra works as a full-time photographer for Grand Valley State University in Allendale, MI. Kendra also explores some aspects of the business of being a photographer and shares a couple important tips for anyone looking to create a business out of their creative endeavors.  Hope you enjoy today's conversation with Kendra. Links:Kendra Stanley Mills Photography: http://www.kendrastanleymills.com/about/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kendra.stanleymillsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/kendrastanleymills/Pinterest: https://www.instagram.com/kendrastanleymills/Metcalf County, Kentucky: https://metcalfecounty.ky.gov/Pages/default.aspxGrand Valley State university: https://www.gvsu.edu/

If you saw <a href="http://www.kendrastanleymills.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Kendra Stanley Mills</a>’ photographs you’d be impressed but you would have no idea of the story of how this incredible artist found her place behind a camera lens.Kendra is a combination of extreme humility and equally big artistic talent. It might have something to with the way she was raised, having spent some time in rural Kentucky as a kid with her “hippie, Mother Earth News” parents living in a one room house with no running water and no toilet, that instilled in Kendra an ingenuity and a stubborn persistence to stay with things and make due with what’s there. As Kendra says, “I’m certain that the way I grew up has a direct correlation to why I became a photographer. My childhood was part “Little House on the Prairie” and part Woodstock. I had an outhouse, no running water, a milk cow, a wood cook stove and no television until middle school...We told stories, listened to old vinyl records, had chores (a lot of chores!) and more adventures than I can count.”She has such fondness for those times that she and her husband Jon Mills moved the log cabin she lived in in Kentucky as a little girl to the property they live on in Montague, MI. From these humble beginnings Kendra eventually became a photojournalist for the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muskegon_Chronicle" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Muskegon (Michigan) Chronicle</a> and today is a portrait photographer of unique talent. Kendra’s photographs are infused with artistic elements, lines, geometry while still putting her subjects in the spotlight. The geometric elements are done so well and so deliberately yet so subtly they become elegant backdrops that enhance images rather than overpower. Our interview was conducted last February pre-coronavirus at her studio office in North Muskegon, the same town where she go her start as an intern for the Muskegon Chronicle. You might hear some hissing—that’s the steam running through the pipes that heated the building. Kendra won the internship just out of college even though as she recounts, “the editors thought others had more talent” but loved that she had a kind of courage. Over the course of her 13 years as a photojournalist Kendra refined a personal style as a newspaper photographer. Sometimes it was uncomfortable documenting the tragedies and hardships of her subject about which the reporters were writing. Kendra recounts the irony of her current business as a portrait photographer because when she started her editor told her her portraits were the weakest work she turned in. “So he made me go out and do every portrait photo assignment I could get so I could get better,” she says.In addition portrait photography where she shoots weddings, families and individual portraits, Kendra works as a full-time photographer for <a href="https://www.gvsu.edu/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Grand Valley State University</a> in Allendale, MI. Kendra also explores some aspects of the business of being a photographer and shares a couple important tips for anyone looking to create a business out of their creative endeavors.  Hope you enjoy today's conversation with Kendra. Links: Kendra Stanley Mills Photography: <a href="http://www.kendrastanleymills.com/about/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.kendrastanleymills.com/about/</a> Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/kendra.stanleymills" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/kendra.stanleymills</a> Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/kendrastanleymills/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.instagram.com/kendrastanleymills/</a> Pinterest: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/kendrastanleymills/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.instagram.com/kendrastanleymills/</a> Metcalf County, Kentucky: <a href="https://metcalfecounty.ky.gov/Pages/default.aspx" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://metcalfecounty.ky.gov/Pages/default.aspx</a> Grand Valley State university: <a href="https://www.gvsu.edu/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.gvsu.edu/</a>

KENDRA STANLEY MILLS: humble beginnings and the art of capturing people being themselves.