About

Sandy Yetter, Pittsburgh Photographer

Writing an About page is harder than it looks! I wanted this blog, and more specifically this page, to give you a sense of who I am as a person, not just a summary of my style of photography or a ‘how I got into this profession’ blurb.

But how exactly does one convey who she is in one page? Each one of us on this Earth is so unique and complex, that even several ‘about’ pages could not even begin to scratch the surface.  But my hope is that by gaining even a small understanding of who I am as a person, perhaps you will then gain a small sense of what moves me, what inspires me as a photographer, a storyteller, a preserver of precious memories.

I think a good start would be the answer to one of my most commonly asked questions: How did you choose the name “Red Lotus” for your business?

I knew a long time ago that I wanted to pick a name for my business rather than just using my name as some photographers do. I don’t know, for some reason the sound of “Sandy Yetter Photography” just didn’t have the ring to it that I was looking for.

Have you ever seen the movie “Where the Heart Is”? It came out in 2000, starring Natalie Portman, Stockard Channing, and Naomi Judd, a really sweet and poignant film. A young and very pregnant girl is abandoned by the father of the child while she is shopping at a Wal-Mart. With no home to go to and no money, she somehow manages to survive by living at the Wal-Mart after closing hours until her baby is born, keeping track of everything she has used so that she can pay them back someday. To make a long story short, she is taken in and befriended by some kind people and is able to make a good life for herself and her child, with many ups and downs in between that make you laugh and cry. Anyway, there is this one scene where she meets the store photographer, Moses Whitecotton, who later inspires her to pursue a career in photography. He asks her what she is going to name her baby, and she says something like, “I don’t know, I was thinking maybe Wendi with an ‘i’.”

“Don’t you dare,” he says to her very seriously. “No, you want to give that baby a strong, sturdy name. A name that means something.”

I really liked that scene…Now, she went on to name her daughter Americus, which I’m not sure I’m fond of, but that’s not the point. If you take his message with you, then you’ll understand why Moses’ words were so eloquent.

So I thought about it for quite a while, wanting to come up with something that had a special meaning to it.

I’ve always thought that the lotus was an elegant and beautiful flower, and when I did some research, I found that meaning of the red lotus really struck a chord with me on a personal level.

A powerful spiritual symbol, the determined lotus flower starts its journey with humble beginnings and finds its way to the sun, blooming pristinely above the water and basking in the gleaming sunlight.  This pattern of growth is symbolic of the progress of the soul from the primordial mud of materialism, through waters of experience, leading into the path of enlightenment as we bask in God’s love.  As the lotus grows up from the mud into an object of great beauty, people can also grow and change into something more beautiful.  The Lotus is symbolic of rebirth, and a symbol of all that is true, good and beautiful.  The stalk of the lotus is easy to bend, but is very hard to break because of its many strong fibers, representing the close unbreakable bond between two lovers or the members within a family.

The lotus symbolizes new beginnings, transformation and the infinite potential within each of us…

Of all the colors you will find, the Red Lotus symbolizes the original nature of the heart. It is the lotus of love, compassion, passion, and all the qualities of the heart.

I believe in living life with passion.  I believe that we all deserve love and compassion.  I believe that each and every one of us has an infinite potential within our souls.  For me, the lotus represents hope.

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And there you have it, the name of my photography business, Red Lotus.  A name that represents something strong and beautiful.  A name that symbolizes love, passion, and compassion.  A name that means something.