The Camera Malfunctioned. Everything Got Clearer.
On creative evolution, culinary roots, and what a broken shutter taught me about letting go.
Portraits shot on my Canon 5D Mark IV and digital medium format - #fujigfx100ii
I was walking up to Skógafoss waterfall in Iceland
with my ladies travel group. Irene, my traveling sister from another mister, at my side. I was carrying a tripod and my camera gear, with the intention of capturing one or two solid shots of the waterfall and then joining the rest of the ladies walking up to it.
I set up my Canon camera, it had thousands and thousands of shutter clicks by that point, and hit the remote trigger to help prevent camera shake.
And then my camera malfunctioned.
It wouldn't focus. The shutter was doing funny things, hesitating. I was troubleshooting, trying to release the shutter manually. I thought maybe it was the mist, something atmospheric making it sticky.
And then I captured this shot.
I felt in control of the rest of the shots from that trip. No weird anomalies, focus when I wanted it.
But when I pulled that waterfall image up on my big editing monitor, I realized I had actually caught the essence of the entire moment in time. The blurred lines, birds flying above, the tiny specks of my co-travelers walking under the waterfall. A natural color grade I've never seen replicated. I've never seen another image like it.
It was the most perfect shot from the trip.
It will forever define my perspective as a photographer.
Gods how I love that image.
That image and that trip opened a window to something
I hadn't explored up until that point. My branding work is all crisp, clean, in focus as it traditionally is for my clients.
But after Skógafoss I dove into next level editing. Color grading. What was I waiting for?
Additional techniques that highlighted the mood and tone of the moments I was capturing.
Drawing me in, twisting my feelings into something more visceral.
I feel so much more hands on in this editing mode. Like a painter with a brush. Full 4D moments.
This transformation also started pulling me back toward my roots.
My pursuit of culinary delights. Curating pastry recipes and using them as foundations to construct sugar soaked dreams with my own hands.
The bespoke wedding cakes and desserts. The culinary community that was just bursting at the seams when I moved to Louisville and had to leave it behind, for the moment.
That version of me never left. She's just been waiting.
It took a while to stop apologizing for the parts of me that didn't fit neatly into a brand photography business. The pastry chef. The food stylist. The woman who cries at sunsets over Windhoek rooftops.
Indianapolis is calling me back. Not as a visitor, but as someone returning to claim something she left behind. Creative spirit and warm familiarity.
REV, the largest fundraiser in the city, held at the 500 track where I once ran client tours and rubbed elbows with sponsors, I've been invited to photograph the city's most innovative chefs in their element. And right after that, a 1:1 with Eva, my favorite food photographer and stylist, on her homestead in Washington State. Stirring up the tactile sensations of preparing food, styling it, letting something ethereal unfold. Taking me back to my heart and my family in the PNW.
Pinch me.
That single image at Skógafoss started something I didn't have a name for yet.
It's always been the food and the stories. And home is where you find your feet, not only in the places you land,
but in the essence you absorb along the way and carry with you.
If any of this is landing for you, if you're a business or brand in Louisville or Indianapolis thinking about what your photography could look like, I'd love to hear about it.
Muses: Gracie Howard, Skógafoss waterfall, Golden Circle Iceland.
ALL IMAGES COPYRIGHT JAMA FINNEY 2026
About the Author
Jama Finney is a Louisville-based portrait and branding photographer known for creating editorial-style imagery for entrepreneurs, creatives, and founders. Her approach blends professional branding photography with portrait-led storytelling, capturing the authority, humanity, and essence behind the people she photographs.
Jama works with clients across Louisville, Indianapolis, and beyond who want branding imagery that feels layered, powerful, and unmistakably like themselves.
When she isn’t behind the camera, she’s usually traveling, observing human nature with curiosity, or writing about the fascinating ways we move through the world.
Interested in working together? Explore branding sessions or get in touch here.
