A photograph can hold a thousand words and can capture images that we might not normally see. Photos can bring us to tears or brighten our darkest moments. They can change our moods and inspire us to be better. The photography of Alyssa Boldischar does all this and more.
Boldischar has been a professional photographer since 2010, but her love for the craft began at the age of 7, when she received her first camera from her mother. “I would just love taking pictures,” Boldischar says. “I’d save up my chore money and get more film and develop it.” That passion continued throughout her school years--Boldischar studied photography in high school and college. She received her degree in art and photography from the University of Minnesota (U of M).
Boldischar’s life has been filled with many influential people who helped her develop her passion for art and photography. One of her biggest influences was her grandmother, a painter. Boldischar grew up surrounded by her grandmother’s beautiful paintings and benefitted from her positive influence. “My grandmother would always encourage me to be creative and do different forms of art, whether it was drawing or painting or just exploring who I am creatively,” Boldischar says. In more recent years, Paul Shambroom, her professor at the U of M, also had a profound effect on Boldischar. “He was just so supportive and pushed me to do what I wanted to do as far as subjects and everything,” Boldischar explains.
Boldischar has shot many subjects and places throughout her career, everything from engagement photos, babies and dogs to the St. Paul Firefighters calendar. Her interest in shooting nature began shortly after she moved to the White Bear Lake area. Boldischar, who grew up in Roseville, has now been living in White Bear Lake for about a year and a half and finds that the area inspires her. “It’s just so beautiful out here,” Boldischar says. “I’ll literally grab my camera and just go out not knowing what I’m going to get and come back with the coolest pictures of deer or owls.” Some of her animal subjects include loons, swans and more. Boldischar says getting the perfect shot sometimes requires patience. When photographing a group of deer crossing the road, Boldischar hunkered down and waited. “I was waiting for a good while for them to cross because I knew it was going to happen. So I was literally standing there in the snow in the middle of the street just waiting for that shot,” Boldischar says. Other times, she says, it comes down to luck.
The future looks bright for Boldischar. This past spring, she showed a photograph in the Northern Lights Exhibit at the White Bear Center for the Arts. She also sells merchandise including scarves, totes and shirts.
Through the many influences and inspirational landscapes Boldischar has encountered, along with her training and honing of her skills, it’s no wonder her photographs turn out so beautifully. “I love capturing memories,” Boldischar says. “There are just some things that happen in such a brief amount of time and to be able to capture that is great, especially if somebody has never seen it or would have seen it.”
