Jamie Birchfield

POP Contest Entries

I am a wife, a mom to fur-babies and a photographer. I am the proud wife of a retired Army Colonel, mom to six dogs and a cat; Ginger, Victor, Walter and Duke are Dobermans, Daisy is a mix between Great Dane and Greyhound (we think). Both Daisy and Walter are rescue pups, we travelled over 1,400 miles to save Walter. Baby is our little old chihuahua that lives with us since my Mother in Law went to assisted living. And lastly, there is Oliver our orange tabby cat we rescued two days before he was to be put down. Our house is sometimes a zoo but we wouldn’t have it any other way.

After years of visiting the area from Pensacola to Panama City Beach we fell in love with the emerald coast and in 2019 we bought 10 acres in Walton County. After COVID stalled our plans to move and build we finally made the big move in 2021 and currently live in north Okaloosa County until we can build on our property.

My journey as a photographer began as a child looking through the old black and white photographs my Grandmother kept in boxes, many images of great grandparents and other relatives I never met. I inherited a few of them and some are well over 100 years old and are among my most loved treasures. Then when I went to Girl Scout summer camp my Mother bought me my first camera and I fell in love with photography. I still have a closet full of boxes of photos I have kept for all these years.

Later in life when my husband deployed to Afghanistan I went back to school and graduated from Southern Illinois University where my studies were concentrated in photojournalism and fine art photography. My images have been published in four books produced by Southern Illinois University.

I started my professional career photographing weddings. I loved the beauty and the pace of the day. I loved the challenges of thinking one step ahead and anticipating the moment to make sure I got the shot. After a long illness and a move to the emerald coast I have transitioned to photographing all of the endlessly beautiful natural places and landscapes along the Gulf of Mexico. I enjoy going to all the State Parks, various communities, local venues and events to capture the essence and beauty of the emerald coast.

My style is a creative approach with a blend of photojournalistic images, classic fine art, and uniquely created images that capture moments and emotions. My goal is to create images that are inspiring and hopefully make you feel the moment and emotion.