Yelena Yahontova

"Goddesses of Nature" is an ongoing photo project celebrating the beauty, wisdom, and mystery of the divine feminine whose true essence lies in a deep connection with Mother Nature. In my interpretation, the Goddess is a metaphor of Nature and every woman's soul - be she Native American, African-American or Caucasian, model-thin or Rubenesque, be she a little girl, a teen girl or a woman - as well as being a metaphor for their mysterious, loving, light-bearing divine essence. In my photographs, the subjects not only join with Nature, they are part of Nature. They not only speak to the trees and flowers, they are in union with them.

I see every woman as beautiful! I believe that women in our everyday life have natural, unique, individual beauty in themselves ? not matter their size, shape or age; therefore, I photograph real, everyday women, not professional models.

I do not use Photoshop to create or merge images as is popular in the artistic world today. My images are actual photographs of young girls and women in actual natural settings representing my ideas about our one-ness with Nature. I help my subjects feel like goddesses during the session, and that is the secret to the Goddess art: finding the goddess inside of every woman and girl." ~ Yelena Yahontova

Yelena Yahontova, M.A., is an award winning photography artist, costume stylist, speaker, and healer with a camera residing in La Jolla, California. She was born in the Eastern European country of Belarus. She has had her photography studio "Yelena: Photographer of Joy" for over 15 years.

Yelena is a woman on a mission. Her mission is to heal and transform how women see themselves by portraying them as beautiful goddesses. She sees every woman as beautiful - no matter her size, shape or age!

Yelena's studio is Nature, and her backdrops are forests, lakes, oceans, and mountains. Yelena uses costume styling, floral accessories and her imagination to transform little girls and women into angels, fairies, and goddess of nature into photographs that bring fairytale magic back into reality.