16 September 2021 | prestonhollowpeople.com
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OKERBLOM OFFERS MATERNITY-FOCUSED PHOTOGRAPHY
Preston Hollow woman’s business celebrates 20th anniversary rice paddy,” she said. “It’s the people who are interesting to me.” Okerblom launched her career as a web designer. Photography was a side hustle, but friends and friends of friends would ask her to photograph their children, and when she left her dot-com job, those newborn shoots paid the bills.
Jayme Okerblom never guarantees parents a particular pose but instead lets the babies lead her to the best shots. To get a maternity shoot focused on a woman’s unique nine-month experience, Jayme Okerblom begins with a consultation focused on lifestyle, tastes, and dreams for the session. (PHOTOS: JAYME OKERBLOM/MIETTE PHOTOGRAPHY)
By Katie Kelton
Special Contributor
C
lients call Jayme Okerblom of Miette Photography a “baby whisperer.” She moves slowly, humming or cooing while she photographs to help her tiny subjects feel calm and protected. “Babies have a natural way of curling up and getting comfortable,” she explained. “The baby will always tell me in his or her own way what they want to do, and I just have to watch and wait for it.”
Her one-year album plans use a series of shoots to “tell the story of all of those first-year milestones in images.” Okerblom trained with a neonatal intensive care unit nurse to safely handle babies as young as 5 days old. That’s one example of how the D Magazine “Best Family Photographer in Dallas” nominee has sought to perfect her focus on mothers and babies during 20-plus years in business. With moms, she references her journey of motherhood. Okerblom has a 17-year-old son and an 11-year-old daughter.
“To be pregnant is to be extremely vulnerable and also, specifically feminine and powerful,” she said. With children, she references her childlike spirit. “I’m so good at relating to kids because I am playful and fun, and I can still act like a kid with them just as I do with my own children,” she said. The self-dubbed “artsy kid,” seldom without a paintbrush or pencil in hand, relished an art class in second grade. Every school art contest thereafter featured her work.
“From that point on, I just viewed myself as an artist,” Okerblom said. In college, she picked up a camera and began collecting memories as she traveled far and frequently in her 20s. She approaches photography with a painter’s eye, drawing inspiration from modern art books, galleries, and the Dallas Museum of Art. Depicting faces rather than landscapes has always been her niche. “I would rather take a picture of somebody working in a beautiful rice paddy than just the beautiful
To be pregnant is to be extremely vulnerable and also, specifically feminine and powerful. Jayme Okerblom Her business, birthed in the tiny living room of her 700-square-foot first apartment, now serves more than 24 North Texas communities from her luxury boutique portrait studio at 3439 Northaven Road. “I thought, I’ll do this while I’m still looking for my real job, you know?” she said. “I just never went back to work.”
SNAPSHOT Miette Photography 3439 Northaven Road. miettephotography.com
St. Mark’s Ninja Warrior
Christian Youst competing in Season 13 By Norishka Pachot People Newspapers
Christian Youst has dreamed of competing on American Ninja Warrior since he was 8. He and his dad would watch it all the time and later began training at Iron Sports Ninja Warrior Gym in Houston before moving to Dallas. “Ninja has become a big part of my life,” the 16-year-old St. Mark’s School of Texas student said. “I like competing and showing people the skills. It’s cool that there’s a TV show for the sport that I like to do.” Now Youst is among those on TV. For the first time, the age limit to compete was lowered to 15, allowing him to join Season 13. His speed helped him make it through the first obstacle course and the semifinals. What’s next? Las Vegas, where athletes will chase the top prize of $1 million.
His next episode will air between late August and early September, his publicist said. “I was very nervous the first few days,” the teen said. “But it’s game mode once you’re doing it.” Youst was first seen competing in 2018. With American Ninja Warrior Junior, he made it through the seeding rounds and the knockout round, advancing to the finals of the first season. “First time I went on set on Ninja Warrior Junior, I was very nervous,” Youst said. “There was a lot of pressure, but I wanted to do well,” During the finals, he lost to winner Vance Walker. But Youst did not give up. He kept training, working on various skills. He competed in multiple courses, including the Ninja Event at the State Games of America, where he won gold in 2019, plus the Iron
I was very nervous the first few days. But it’s game mode once you’re doing it. Christian Youst
Christian Youst relies on his speed and training to advance in Season 13 of NBC’s American Ninja Warrior. Check it out at nbc.com/american-ninja-warrior. (PHOTO: ELIZABETH MORRIS/NBC) Sports Competition and Ultimate Ninja Athlete Competition. Youst is Texas’ two-time male Ninja Warrior State Champion, one-time National Champion, and UNAA’s World
Champion on World Ninja Challenge. “ The cool thing about competing is that you forget about it in the first obstacles,” he said. “All the nerves go away.”
