Melanie Stephens

Photography Portfolio

I started my photography career as a Regional Photo Editor at TIME Magazine in Chicago, where I worked on staff for eight years.

My next move was to start, manage and sell a sports photography (rafting, skiing, rodeo, etc.) company in a Colorado ski town.

That led to years of travel and freelance working, earning clips from companies like Patagonia, Outside Magazine and others.

My projects continued with the Women and War 501(c)3 non profit project (see below) and Wild Hot and Dusty, a legacy project apparel company, and a host of travel adventures, both international and throughout the American West, on the side.

See Full Portfolio

Travel Writing

I learned journalism as a Regional Photo Editor at TIME Magazine in Chicago, where I worked on staff for eight years and had the occasional opportunity to also report on and contribute to published stories ( see TIME story: left).

That led to years of travel and freelance work, earning clips from companies like TIME, Outside Magazine, Women’s Sports and Fitness Magazine and local and regional newspapers.

My travel focus is on island and mountain sports and lifestyle, humanitarian stories of people in need and those who help them, international travel, stories of the American West and wine related adventures (see below: Project: Wine Tasting Adventures).

My Projects:
Wild Hot and Dusty

Wild Hot and Dusty Apparel was a photographic “legacy” project for me.

I took photos of my father’s old cowboy boots, coupled them with the sayings of my family and other western sages (ex: “Darn Near Perfect,” “I Feel Like a Million Bucks,”) and hand-embroidered the prints onto organic, Made in USA shirts, dresses and hats.

For several years, I sold Wild Hot and Dusty apparel in dozens of high-end boutiques and western stores in the USA and Canada.

My best-selling store was the Nashville Five and TENN in the 5-Star Omni Hotel. It was on one of my visits there that I met the unbelievable talented and generous singer-songwriter Sara Evans, and had the opportunity to gift her one of my shirts.

Altogether, developing this brand was a major undertaking done with my heritage, ethics and values in the forefront. The project itself was amazing. (What a ride!) As a business, it was less amazing, but it’s one of the things I’m most proud of ever having done.

My Projects: Women and War

“Women, who know the price of conflict so well, are also often better equipped …to prevent or resolve it.” UN Secretary-General, Kofi

I started the Women and War Project (2001 to 2011) to tell stories of war from the perspective of women around the world who live it.

I coupled my own photographs with the first-person narrives of women in countries of conflict. I presented those stories over the course of nearly a decade in a host of venues including art galleries and museums and to audiences including educational, professional, civic, trade, corporate, journalistic and non-profit organizations.

Through those presentations, the non-profit 501(c)3 Women and War organization raised and donated over $20,000 to humanitarian organizations working on the ground in war-torn areas.

“…90 percent of current war casualties are civilians, the majority of whom are women and children.” United Nations

A heartfelt thank you to all of the women, organizations, volunteers and donors who helped these efforts.

Melanie Stephens | Director
The Women and War Project

My Projects:
Wine Tasting Adventures

www.WineTastingAdventures.com is a fun website that I put together to couple my love of wine with my love of adventures. “We search the globe for active, artistic, eco- and healthy-minded wine tasting adventures (so that you don’t have to)!

Take a look and meet me in wine country!