Meet Natasha Rigg | Photographer, Filmmaker, and Geologist in Boulder, CO

We had the good fortune of connecting with Natasha Rigg and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Natasha, do you have a favorite quote or affirmation?
I’m a big fan of Mary Oliver among other writers, and one of my favorite quotes from her poem The Summer Day has always held a special place in my heart and has become somewhat of a mantra: “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” How truly compelling, and for me it’s a reminder to challenge myself to live life as fully as possible, to say yes to the adventure, and to evaluate my priorities in life and weigh my options with those in mind. Certainly, as I’m ending my 50th rotation around the sun, those priorities that anchor me are crystal clear: my family, my creativity, speaking up even when it’s hard, and getting outside. I tend to arrange my life around supporting these values.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I’ve had a pretty circuitous path to get to where I am today. I’m a family photographer and filmmaker with a bit of wedding photography on the side. I have also had a ~15-20 year career as a geologist prior to starting my photography business, which I loved, but life happens and even years before getting laid off from geology, photography was a major hobby that I had developed. It kept me sane and was a great creative outlet.

I think the real turning point for my business was when I had my first child. The recognition that life is really short and these moments are fleeting really hit home – how quickly our kids change as they grow and this constant feeling of having to let go of the old and embrace the new. So, I started my family photography business in 2016 when I got laid off, and slowly added filmmaking in 2018.

Since about 2018, I have been digitizing the thousands of photos and memoirs left to my family by my grandmother. She was an incredible storyteller and the gift of having her stories recorded and being able to match photos with some of the people in the stories is priceless. Reading these stories to our kids gives them an incredible sense of history and place – a foundation of who we are and from whence we came. Because of this, I’ve become really passionate about my new offering of Family Legacy Films, because I wish I had had the foresight and knowledge to record my grandmother when I could and I think this work is so important that I’m offering this to others.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I mean, we live in Colorado! I’d take them hiking all over the place – RMNP, Brainard Lake, and any amount of local trails. In between hiking, we’d hit some great restaurants – Lucille’s or Walnut Cafe for breakfast, the Kitchen for lunch, and Frasca for a fancy evening out. If we stayed locally, we’d have to head down to RiNo district to kick around, and then head over to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science (I gotta be me and the science is still in here!). If there was time, we’d head up to Steamboat Springs for some skiing.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Sharee Davenport has trusted me to photograph many of her amazing clients and given me the type of experience that would take years to develop on my own. She’s a rock star! https://coloradophotographersquad.com/

Website: https://www.heirloomfp.com

Instagram: @heirloomfilmsandphotography

Other: Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/user69931241

Image Credits
All photos copyright Natasha Rigg of Heirloom Films & Photography