Enlightened Lens Collective

10/21/2026

It had been two years since Jay County got together to celebrate its own like this. We were glad to be in the room behind the camera for it.

The 2026 Jay County Chamber Awards, hosted by Jay County Chamber of Commerce, honored the people and businesses who keep showing up for this county. Congratulations to this year’s winners:

𝐑𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫 𝐁𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝: Scratch 27 Bar & Grille, Nick and Katie Jones

𝐁𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫: Mrs. P's Kitchen, Jane Noe-Prescott

𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐂𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐧 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝: Brooke Aker - Counseling & Wellness, LLC.

𝐂𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝: Chuck Denney - Portland Fire Department Chief

𝐈𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 & 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝: & Spoke Antique Mall - Angie and Britany

𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝: Fisher Meats

𝐋𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐜𝐲 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝: Donald Gillespie

𝐍𝐨𝐧𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐢𝐭 𝐄𝐱𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝: Jay County Fair

𝐒𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐓𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐁𝐢𝐠 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝: Leroy Brown, Karate Is Cure 501c3

𝐄𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝: Ali Buckland Three Chicks Farm

𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐄𝐱𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝: Angela Paxson - First Bank of Berne

𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝: Jay County Humane Society

Every nomination that night was a reminder of how much good is happening in Jay County, often quietly and often by people who would rather not be recognized for it.

Thank you to Amanda Nixon-Randall and the planning team for an evening that was both meaningful and a lot of fun, and to the sponsors who made it possible, including First Bank of Berne , Tyson Foods, Bizy Dips Bakery & Coffee Shop, and Wheel & Spoke Antique Mall .

More images from the night are on the way. Be sure to follow this page.

10/18/2026

Back to work...

10/17/2026

Always working including tonight at the Jay County Chamber of Commerce Awards. That won't stop us from going all out though.

10/10/2026

Blast from the past.

We had the absolute joy of photographing this beautiful family before, and today we get to do it all over again.

Look at these faces. The silly ones, the sweet ones, all of it. This is why we do what we do.

We cannot wait to see how much everyone has grown. See you at golden hour.

10/08/2026

There is a particular kind of magic that happens when a whole family lands in a field full of wildflowers and just lets themselves be together.

We spent a bright, beautiful afternoon with the Gierhart family out at the U-Cut Flowers FloraScape Gardens wildflower field in , and it was everything we love about this work. Three generations, color everywhere, little ones running, grandparents laughing, and that easy connection you cannot pose your way into. They showed up dressed beautifully and ready to have fun, and it carried through every single frame.

A heartfelt thank you to Gardens for the use of that gorgeous field, and to our own , who stepped in and brought a helpful, joyful hand on this one. She was exactly who we needed.

The full gallery is on its way. For now, here is your first little peek!

09/30/2026

It is , and we are finally coming up for air.

The last few weeks have been shoots, projects, deadlines, and plain old life. Heads down, phones down, work up. So when we finally got a minute to breathe, the first thing we wanted to do was point the light at somebody else.

Our friends Ryan and Megan Suman built Ryzone's Food Truck from the ground up. Ryan welded years in a Pennville pizza kitchen into a pizzeria on wheels, built the trailer with his own two hands, and now serves hand-tossed and Detroit-style pies, calzones, and cheesy bread all over and beyond. This month, their story landed in the October issue of Indiana Connection by . Seeing a local family's hard work in print is the kind of thing that makes this whole county feel like home.

This is what staying in Jay looks like. Real people, feeding real neighbors, building something that is theirs. We are proud to know them, and prouder to share them.

Congratulations, Ryan and Megan. Jay County eats good because of you. Ryzone's Food Truck article writen by Carly Alleshouse Nichols

09/17/2026

Alright, until 8pm tonight is our great so come on out and let's mingle.

09/17/2026

We placed second in Launch Jay! and were awarded $4,000. We are beyond appreciative for this but that is not the part we want to talk about.

This started back in March. A call-out meeting at the Community Resource Center, a room of people who mostly did not know each other, and months of sitting down together to build actual business plans. By the time we got to the pitch, we were not competing against strangers. We were competing against people whose businesses we had watched take shape.

Trinity Dawn Cervantes at become a full-time blacksmith and leatherworker. Stephanie Fields is building her Viking-themed axe hall and serves as the head brewer of at . Leroy has a martial arts school where kids in this county learn discipline that carries into everything else. Bobbi of does more real market research than most companies ten times their size.

Watching people stand up and say here is what I am building, out loud, in front of a room, is harder than it looks. Every one of them did it.

Our pitch was about three seconds. That is how long a customer takes to decide whether to stop or scroll past your business. We believe that. But the thing we are taking home from Launch Jay! is not the three seconds. It is the six months.

Thank you to the and the JayRegion for building something that does not just hand out a check, to and all the partners that served along side them and us through this, and to the judges and mentors who gave us their time.

And congratulations to Leroy Brown . Well earned. (Make sure to give us a follow ;) ).

does not need to look outside its own borders to find people worth betting on. We spent six months with the proof.

09/16/2026

It is honestly wild that it has been a full year since we sent our intern out to capture the Jay County Bridge Dinner in our place (we had a brand shoot booking outside of town).

This year, we will be on the bridge ourselves, in the middle of it, watching this community do the thing it does best: show up for each other.

But first. Tonight, we are on stage for another shot at the . We have poured countless hours into figuring out what this year's pitch should even be about. Pivoting is so familiar around here that it has earned its own name and its own chair in the studio. I am not kidding.

And here is the crazy part. Everything we tried to force in our own strength did not work. Meanwhile, the actual THING was staring us in the face the whole time. We never had to chase it. It chases us. It bangs on our door, it blows up our phones, it will not leave us alone. We just could not figure out how to make a living and legacy from it, or how to explain to you what it even is.

The truth? We simply love doing it. And tonight, we finally get to say it out loud.

So if you are free tonight, and you are rooting for us to WIN, be in the house.

🎤 Come cheer us on
📅 September 16 at 6:00 PM
📍 Arts Place, 131 East Walnut Street, Portland, IN 47371
https://www.facebook.com/share/19cbte7DSy/

Last year was such a fun time at the Jay County Bridge Dinner so we HAD to come back for year #2! 🍂 See y’all Thursday!!

Photo 📸 credits: Enlightened Lens Collective 🫶🏽

09/16/2026

Last year was such a fun time at the Jay County Bridge Dinner so we HAD to come back for year #2! 🍂 See y’all Thursday!!

Photo 📸 credits: Enlightened Lens Collective 🫶🏽