Today we’d like to introduce you to Renae DeVine.
Hi Renae, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
During COVID, I was reading nothing but negative news on social media, and I felt so much sadness within the community; I took the chance to post some of my landscapes of Clay County on News4Clay/News4Jax, and we immediately got an overwhelming amount of positive responses and eventually over 500 people liked my photographs, with nothing but positive comments that went on and on for days and hasn’t stopped ever since it was what our community needed most at that time! I went outside daily, captured beautiful landscapes, and brought them back to the community on social media. I mean every single day without fail, where I still receive encouraging messages today. Many thanks for bringing beauty and good vibes in these harsh times! I now have over 1.4 million views on Google, volunteered for my community for two years, have been doing this for roughly 5 years now, and have received many community awards and recognitions and am transitioning into much success with being my community “favorite local photographer,” (hashtag) #yourfavoritelocalphotographer and am giving quality, affordable, comfortable, professional photography services for my community and all over Floridas First Coast! I have been honored to work with so many and have been told I give them such a great feeling and confidence within themselves that they had lost, or they tell me stories of their childhood or how they truly can feel that moment in that specific photo. Many say they feel like a child again or get the best feelings from my photography. You can try to explain it repeatedly, but wait until you understand what everyone means. “What you feel is what you are, and what you are is beautiful!”
Goo Goo Dolls
Renae DeVine
DeVinevisionz2020
Let’s dig deeper into the story – has it been an easy path, and if not, what challenges have you overcome?
It has been the harshest times we’ve ever experienced as a community, where we’ve needed to rebuild trust, care, concern for one another, and teamwork. I feel like I’ve been a massive part of trying to keep our community alive with love and passion for life and one another, as we still need our village and get back to our values of helping one another to rebuild our communities and lives!
I appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I do what’s called photo art, where I take one of my photos and make my colors, shadows, highlights, etc., from what I felt at that moment or what my lens couldn’t capture. I try to bring it back to my fans for the same feeling and understanding of what I experienced; many say they see and feel it. This can upset some because I changed a natural photo, yet they still stay true and loyal to DeVinevisionz2020 and keep coming back to see more! 🙂
The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you, and any essential lessons or epiphanies you can share?
I have been humbled during this whole ordeal with COVID, seeing how we’ve had to remember to help our neighbors, learn to trust one another and accept differences of opinions without arguing or demeaning one another, and find our inner leadership skills to build back what we’ve lost within our community. Give back more than you take, build upon one another’s strengths, and try your best to encourage people to work together.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: DeVinevisionz2020
- Facebook: www.Facebook.com/DeVinevisionz2020
Image Credits
City Pier Green Cove Springs (pink) Eagle Harbor St John’s River (darker swampy) Burdocks on Black Creek (golden one) The Arctic Discoverer Ship
