An Interview by Kaitlyn Dugan
Local photographer and “all-around creator of cool stuff” Lynn Fern has devoted her career to capturing the essence of beautiful things. Whether that be rescuing vintage furniture to give it a new life, photographing any event in town, or blogging about her interesting experiences, Lynn is always seizing the opportunity to be creative. Although photography wasn’t something she originally planned to pursue, Lynn found that it brought out a different side of her that she was always looking for.
From a young age, Lynn was always surrounded by creative and handy people. Her grandmother made sure to liven any family event through hand drawn cards, and her maternal grandfather was one of the first people to build multi-million dollar homes in Oklahoma. As an enthusiastic five year old, Lynn would saunter through newly constructed homes, breathing in the fresh wooden aroma. In that moment, she knew that enhancing furniture and rooms was in her future. She credits her DIY background to both her grandfather and her dad, who had a workshop filled with beloved power tools.
After high school, Lynn went the business route, where she worked in the corporate world. Around 12 years ago, she began to pursue her passion for refurbishing and “flipping” furniture. When she started DIY-ing, Lynn worked with many different brands as an ambassador. When selling her furniture, Lynn learned that “these brands want a nice, beautiful photograph because that’s what their audience wants!” A picture of her work engaged more people, so Lynn chose to up her photography game. This became the next step on the staircase of her career and brought her back to the age of five, when she first realized that capturing wonderful things was her life mission. She has made a name for herself in the town of Cornwall as a booming local photographer, attending many school and community events, her favorite being the varsity football team’s games.
Growing up in West Texas, near the town of Odessa (the setting for H.G. Bissinger’s football novel, Friday Night Lights and the award-winning movie of the same name) Lynn developed a very strong history with football. From the age of two, Lynn and her father would sit together every Sunday, all day, to watch the game. This bond she shares with her dad over “really good” football, as well as building, has stuck with Lynn and now she takes care of him. At the age of 18, while attending an important game for the Odessa Permian, Lynn discovered her love for sports photography because she was dying to get on the field. She thought to herself, “Wouldn’t it just be amazing to be on the football field capturing these moments?” There were no cell phones or digital cameras at the time - she fell for intricate film photography. Lynn told me that the night of that game, “someone very special in [her] life told [her] that [she] would never make it as a photographer.” That’s why, when asking her about her favorite event she has ever photographed, Lynn immediately thought of the first State Football Game in 2018. Lynn said, “ I think when I was given that opportunity to walk out on that field, not knowing I was going to that night (thanks to some special friends), my story began. I knew that the boys had something really remarkable, and it taught me that what I wanted to do was never give up on my dream. So there's a connection between the football team and my dream, and in that moment everything collided.” She fondly remembers walking the perimeter of the Carrier Dome in a Cornwall shirt that she forgot she wore, and as a result, she got booed. “ I just turned around smiling, saying, ‘Sorry, I’m a photographer,’ holding up my media pass! Nobody was mean, just messing around with me, but it was such an amazing experience”, she says. The opposing team even asked for some of her pictures, which she states is “a good feeling.” Although she loves all forms of photography, photographing sports gives her an adrenaline rush to capture what she calls a “money shot” - “having some movement, while other parts of the photo remain still.” Because of this, Lynn steps into a bubble and loses herself in the action surrounding her, so much so that she might not hear when people address her!
Lynn prides herself on capturing her subjects’ personalities, even when she is nervous to do so. Lynn told me, “ I feel like I have a gift - people probably don’t know this about me, but I am an introvert. I can clamp up faster than anybody, and if I’m not in my element, I can pretty much be invisible and disappear. But with photography, I am so completely in my element that I feel like I can talk to seniors and find out about their passions or future endeavors.” Showing subjects how beautiful they truly are makes Lynn’s “heart happy”!
Besides the State Football Games, Lynn has had some amazing experiences, like being on an episode of HGTV’s Flea Market Flip in 2015 and photographing the 2020 graduation ceremonies. Lynn still has the same desire to make fun, flipped objects. This fall, Lynn (with a little help from her husband) completely renovated their garage to be a Christmas themed studio! She plans to help the CCHS Varsity football team with a photography fundraiser later this year as well. Lynn refers to last year's graduation as, “one of the most amazing, storytelling, places to be”. She enjoys helping our Cornwall community, and seeing the seniors walk across the stage smiling with masks on, giving a thumbs up, or pointing to her made her feel like she had done her job by giving back. A quote she lives by, told to her by her biggest influencer, her dad, states, “A hand that is too tight to give is a hand too tight to receive.” Lynn says, “I go back to that all the time and think that it takes a village to raise kids, it takes a village to keep everyone going, and with what we are going through right now, I feel like we as a community have accomplished a lot.” As both a person and a small business owner, Lynn Fern has captured the beauty and joy in our little town, and has given back to all by doing so.
Check out her incredible work at lynnfern.com.
Photo by Lynn Fern
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