Monica Lillya

The world around us presents meaningful moments and messages. Using the art of seeing with awareness, Monica Lillya records these special moments in time through photography,. As the shutter snaps, the opportunity is created to see both the new and old in different ways.

In the blur of life busyness, the art of photography can present different ways of seeing, thinking, and feeling about the past, present, and future. Photographs have the power to expand our awareness and appreciation of the simple, the complicated, and the unusual world around us.

Images of the old make time travel a possibility. Photographs can be a passport to visiting history of past lives lived, discoveries made, places, experiences and events that marked our world. We can learn from images of the past, adding to knowledge and even promoting new concepts or ways of thinking. Images can evoke intense emotions that can inform and motivate change in present day and future possibilities. For Monica, taking photos has been an opportunity to slow down, explore and discover her surroundings with the special people, places and animals in the world. Bringing others pleasure, beauty, a smile or even comfort when sharing her images is the icing on top of the cake in creating meaningful art.

Monica believes the miracle of photography is its ability to record special experiences as they occur and become memories of the past. These meaningful split seconds in time can become gifts to be opened again and again.

Monica Lillya has been recording special people, animals, places and events in her life since first receiving a Kodak Brownie camera as a young girl over 55 years ago. She loved marking special events, places, and people, especially her rather tolerant family, friends and pets. Career choices led to education in elementary classrooms with teaching reading as a specialty. Taking photographs also helped Monica teach children how to visualize and understand what they read. In between teaching and raising a family, Monica continued to take pictures using 35mm film eventually moving into digital cameras. Now retired, Monica has the opportunity to specialize or grow as a photographer in seeing special moments and recording them to share with others.