Consciousness · Creativity · Dorothy Perry · Energy · Photography · Practice · Relationship · Song Of Triumph · Vision

Gunslinger

Names have been changed to protect the innocent.

My partner of five years decided to tell me

that the last five years were a total lie.

Imagine learning someone waited patiently for years

for the best moment to break your heart and trust in others.

A seismic jolt to the core of me

at a time I was happiness on two legs, ecstatic at my first solo show.

Now with the years and intimacies of memories colored and changed by betrayal,

No picture I see can be trusted.

But by deleting these photos on Facebook, I am also deleting the visible signs to me of my own moments and growth.

I decided to take my stand and reclaim the energy around my photographs.

Though he is in them, the ones I like are MINE,

and energy is always returned to me whenever I see it again.

In meditative renaming, I speak to remembering the high level of what I gained, evidenced, and celebrated,

reclaiming it for good, and returning it to me.

I call it my Song of Triumph, and I seek to keep this positive version of events

in my conversations going forward.

During my show’s run, I visited my photos and smiled and sang in the hallways, looked and spoke lovingly to the artwork, talked in words of happiness and joy,

felt good all up and down those hallways.

I took photos of my happiness and gratitude

at what had occurred and manifested visibly so quickly in my life.

I had wanted to have a show downtown (I did) in a beautiful old historical church,

with a show I had wanted to display for many years.

And no matter who tried to hate on it – some closer proximity than others –

it was beautiful and memorable.

I am reminded of the Old West idea of a gunslinger.

The guy has such a vibe that everyone tries him;

everywhere a stranger stepping up to challenge him

with “Who Do You Think You Are?” energy.

In this case, this feeling is also accompanied by

“Knock You Off Your High Horse” to put a plan into action.

My strength and superpower is that ever since I was a young girl

I have possessed a very strong natural psychic presence

and deal with “Who Do You Think You Are?” energy like the air I breathe

throughout school, travelling, and very odd spontaneous encounters with those triggered by my mere presence every day.

Connected to love and witnessed by God every day for the purity of my intentional heart,

My experiences dealing with envious evil eye ego diva drama energy

stems from constant Divine connection

to this assured inner self

who answers “Who Do You Think You Are?” with a quiet glance.

My little ‘sparkler’ awakened by my vulnerable questions

is a firecracker in my daily life,

moving out all the nonsense people

wanting and wasting her Dorothy’s valuable energy.

God bless my intuition through Spirit

and release of attempts to connect into my energy

as oftenandoftenasoftenandoften

and from WHOM as often as needed.

May every memory

entangled in emotional betrayal

be transmuted through Spirit

into forgiveness, healing, and light.

With obsidian in my pockets,

laughter in my eyes, and love in my heart,

I am dancing back into my life

whether you see me or

just hear about me from a distance.

“Just because you lost me as a friend, doesn’t mean you gained me as an enemy. I’m bigger than that, I still wanna see you eat, just not at my table.” ― Tupac


Dorothy Perry specializes in personal portraits imbued with deep feeling. Contact her here.

Consciousness · Creativity · Dorothy Perry · Energy · Perry Portrait Art · Practice · Vision

Think of Me

I am thinking of you all the time
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Love, Mom

I found this thought at the end of a letter

I wrote to my daughter years ago.

Intuition places these things in my way to contemplate,

and in this mindset, I see evidence of my behavior with my family,

with people I knew, and people I wanted to know.

My Gordian knot if some think it so, but a rich source of emotion

like the experienced Advisor in your ear in the shadows,

providing wise input as well.

Today I want to raise the counterintuitive idea

of seeing signs of your earlier self in these little ways,

to learn about yourself and your little ‘likes’

by being familiar with your internal body sensations for ‘yes’ happiness

and where you get your feelings of childlike delight

(mine is making snow angels!)

Enjoy what happens when you begin to treat yourself

as a person you care for,

find nice things for,

think with interest about,

enjoy time with,

and want to see succeed.

Dorothy Perry seeks to capture the energy of the Divine in photographing portraits and special occasion events. Contact her here.

Creativity · Photography · Practice

What’s In A Name?

There is something glorious about saying, ” I created something that has my name on it.”

Not only your signature, but your standards.

The something you want to reflect your subtlety and style;

The thing that has your energy in it.

I am a photographer known for my attention to the feelings of things,

and early on, had lovely but shortlasted creative names like Dorothy Perry Portrait, Dance of Life and Double Happiness.

I also obsessed about fonts, but that is another story for another day.

Truly an airy and impractical soul, I did not learn about the value of domain names until I needed one: mine. Little did I know how hard it would be.

In those years, my name in combination with photography was taken off the board.

There are a number of Perry surnamed photographers as well as the other nice Dorothy Perrys living all over the United States,

and names that I desired were limited by others claiming all the variations of the names for profiles and screen names as well.

So now as I locate the threads everywhere to be rewoven back into my nest,

I will produce, post and control the quality of what I want to write here from my home base. THIS ONE.

The one that has my name on it.

Dorothy Perry is a Chicago photographer of peoples’ personal lives and celebrations. Questions or commissions through the Contact Page here.

Creativity · Photography · Vision

Photos for Feelings

The image was a beautiful moment in the ceremony, deep within the photo, taken by a guest in the wedding party.

The groom is a photographer friend, and I know so well the axiom that “the shoemaker’s kids have no shoes,”

and how a photographer may sometimes never own any decent photos of their own important life events.

I saw another moment within the image – to be ‘brought out’ and brightened, so that it can be seen – and felt.

The difference between retouching and my creative ‘caress’ is that I use a quieter, more intuitive eye to see the newer photograph inside the original one, not just a cropping. I wrote another post about the technique in a June 6, 2020 post, Finding A Something More.

So happily honored to see that the bride posts this as her profile photo online. I wish Daphne and Jeff Happy Anniversary, and many dances together to come!


Dorothy Perry is a Chicago portrait photographer specializing in custom family portraits, modern headshots, & personal branding for women and executives.

 Contact her for commissioned work here. Thank you.

Practice · Vision

Putting It Out There

The most valuable lesson I have learned from my mentors is that

A portrait has to be framed.

so your children can grow up

seeing their lives celebrated in picture form

in art they see around their home.


Dorothy Perry is a Chicago photographer of family portraits, modern headshots and personal milestone celebrations. Contact her here.

Energy · Photography · Vision

Make YOUR Art

Today I want to send out good vibes

to the people who come up against the gatekeepers.

We have to live in your world sometimes,

but there is another world, more brightly lit.

(paraphrased from Tales From The Darkside, ha ha.)

Actual real-world people

choosing and buying things that are beautiful.

So, boys and girls, consider the source (even if they say they are ‘experts’)

and keep making your art anyway.

Keep refining – and keep making – your art

not just for the acclaim, but also to make money.

To teach yourself how to be a person who CAN:

become braver, learn new skills,

speak to strangers, get cooperation, meet deadlines.

Become a problem solver. Become a visionary for others.

Photography created these skills and this personality.

But it turned out it had to fit into my life in the right place.

Maybe you will always have it be the other job, as it is for me.

But keep art making in your life. ✨

Photography · Practice · Vision

Grit And Pearl

I go online and Google myself sometimes, and saw an 2006 post from a fellow photographer, riffing on the theme of being a psychic photographer based on an ad I had written for my services. (To read the original post, click here.)

It was good-natured, but it stung a little that I had tried so carefully to describe what I did, only to have it be the butt of someone’s joke. And it apparently had still been smouldering, since it had caught my attention during a moment I had not expected.

I think to practice ones’ gift is to know that many times, it will be misunderstood.

The difference is that now I am choosing to see these kinds of situations with a mindset of appreciation for what it teaches – (even though I could not see it while it was happening.)

Some memories arise to a neutral, dispassionate view that acknowledges that yes, something happened, and despite potential for a cautionary tale, yes, it is done.

Others create laughter: I can take a deep breath and smile at challenges to my ego or my vanity. And others can be seen with compassion for a young person’s mis-reading of emotion and information.

When this comes up again in the Slideshow of my Mind,

I will choose to see and feel it differently.

I’ll bring a gentle, open, and curious self to those formative incidents,

especially ones that ‘ring up’ old memories or create unexpected charges of emotion.

I see it in the light of day,

the drama of the story dissolving.

I see it now for the best for everyone involved.

The energy of releasing old stories affects people differently.

Sometimes the act of getting it out happens quickly,

and other times, I have to let it work its way and have its say quietly,

as there is more under the surface that takes time to unfold.

The years since have created someone new:

Someone with a dream, even when another cannot see it (or see it yet.)

With that vision, even the irritations of life are welcomed for the ‘pearl’ created.


Dorothy Perry is a Chicago portrait photographer specializing in custom family portraits, modern headshots, & personal branding for women and executives.  Contact her studio for commissioned work here.  

Consciousness · Creativity · Photography · Vision

Like Attracts Like

The mind attracts the thing it dwells upon.

Dorothy Perry facilitates authentic, aware intimacy in relationships and evolving personal portraiture (It’s ALL in the eyes.) Mystic by birth, photographer by choice. Here.

Creativity · Perry Portrait Art · Photography · Vision

Eye Level

My motto with creating new family portraits is:

If it gets in the way, it does not stay.

As we have this terrific light winter in Chicago,

we can still make amazing baby photos outdoors.

Contact Dorothy here or

email contact@dorothyperry.com

to plan an energized urban family portrait.

A Certain Way · Consciousness · Creativity · Perry Portrait Art · Practice · Vision

Ideas Of The Future

Over the years I have lived as a photographer, I have realized that being a creative artist has, over time, has enabled me to be a creative ‘see-er’, too!

I treasure and cultivate my ability to see things differently by actively listening, day-dreaming, and using counterintuitive ideas to access an ability to look at your questions in a fresh new way.

This discernment allows me to:
‘connect the dots’,
find new ideas / markets for your niche,
see new directions,
enhance and improve offerings,
and refine messages to reflect more accuracy.

It’s a great feeling when I hear:
“That’s a very good idea!”
“I haven’t thought about it but that’s a good idea!”
“I love this!!! I’m totally going to share it with my group tomorrow!”

Reach out here or via my website Contact Page, and I am happy to ‘take a look’ at a topic of interest for your business – or for you.

I feel that this way of envisioning will bring you an original idea or concept you have never heard before. And it’s my desire that it will benefit your life immensely!

Message me to reserve a consultation today!✨