Lynn Jordan is one of the many artists setting up at the 43rd annual Art in the Park in Foley.

Not just one booth, but two: photography and hand-poured candles.

You could say Lynn fell into these hobbies by accident.

“I don’t know when I started with photography; I’m trying to think. It’s probably my fourth or fifth career,” she says, laughing.

Lynn started teaching middle school language arts after college and left the classroom in 2000.

“I needed a little something to do and started making candles then,” she says.

Fourteen years ago, she was in Pensacola making paraffin candles and doing a few art shows here and there.

Lynn moved on to her next career, which was print advertising; she put the candles aside.

“One thing or another has led us to Gulf Shores and we moved about six years ago,” she says. “We now live on Plash Island.”

At Lynn’s and her husband, Mike’s home, they can see local shrimp boats dock up on the Bon Secour River.

“We look right out on the bay; the shrimp boats pass us every evening and every morning coming back,” Lynn says. “I just became fascinated watching these boats. Many people don’t realize this industry was in the area long before tourism. For these fourth and fifth generation shrimpers, this isn’t just a job; it’s a way of life.”

A few years ago, Mike bought Lynn a Canon camera for Christmas to replace her small digital camera.

“I played with it awhile and it wasn’t until I started taking pictures of these boats that something just clicked and I became interested,” Lynn says. “I don’t have any professional training and I’m sure I drive some people crazy because I can’t tell you how a camera works. I just know I like to see things and take pictures of them.”

Lynn can tell she had an appreciation of photographs at a young age.

“I think back to when I was a kid and there was a lot going on in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s,” she says. “I remember being fascinated with Life magazine and National Geographic because of the pictures. I realized how powerful an image was, so somewhere there’s something in me that goes way with the appreciation of pictures.”

But it’s these shrimp boats that have Lynn interested in photography. Lynn says she never planned to do art shows or sell photos; it just happened.

Through her photography, Lynn’s come to know most of the local shrimpers and has become an advocate for the shrimpers; buying domestic seafood rather than imported.

“This is such a neat area; where else can you go just a few miles inland from the coast and see all these farms?” Lynn says. “I grew up in Marion, and these farms remind me of home. I rarely go to the beach and take pictures. I like rural areas and rivers. A lot of it for me is finding beauty in things I see all the time.”

Lynn says that photography and candle-making keep her busy; they’re her stress reliever.

This is Lynn’s second year participating in Art in the Park. Her first juried show was at the Jubilee Festival in Daphne.

Look for shrimp boat photos on Bon Secour River at Art in the Park Saturday and Sunday. Keep your eye out for her signature tin candles with her shrimp boat photo on top, Bon Secour Candle Company.

People profile

Name: Lynn Jordan

Hometown: Marion

Current residence: Gulf Shores

Occupation: Photographer, candle-making