hall of fame
NEW MEMBER NOV 2022
What makes Megan Blankenship NEXT LEVEL ? A passion and love for the industry that has existed since I was born - I grew up devoted to our family farm and carried a camera around with me constantly taking photos of every cow on the place until my mom put an end to the nonstop film development! I was surprisingly a very shy child (although no one believes that anymore!) - I never wanted to leave the farm until I discovered livestock shows and that involvement brought me out of my shell. I was fortunate to work around and learn from so many amazing people and developed my career through real world education, both in livestock & photography. And it is the people around me that continue to make Next Level truly NEXT LEVEL. Our team shares my passion and dedication to the industry and to the magic of creating the best backdrops and best candid photos we can, all while having a good time and embracing the opportunities to meet new people and share in some of the very best moments. We are so lucky to work with so many great events and photo some of the best livestock in the world and we don’t take that responsibility lightly. We live and breathe this industry and that deep connection is vital to our skills staying current and our dedication to providing the best work possible. I cannot list all of the people who make Next Level since there are so, so many, but I communicate daily with Emma Mathews, Payton Farmer & Megan Anderson about photo things, livestock things and life. They help me balance the overlapping events and share in the heavy workload and join me on many of our Next Level adventures!
How do you incorporate FAMILY and travel? I’m blessed with an incredible support system at home and on the road. My husband, Matthew, is a super dad/ cow man when I am gone long stretches and he gets some assistance from my family too! I’m extremely thankful for technology that keeps me constantly in touch and the kids have both mastered FaceTime. It’s tough to be away - the busy days and wonderful people I work with keep me happily distracted, but whenever it does work out that I can bring a kiddo along or the whole family comes to a show with me, it’s so nice to have them there! It also gives credit to the phrase “it takes a village” and we have an AMAZING one! From photo team members to show families who treat our little ones like their own, I am so grateful for the community feel stock shows have. Watching the kids develop instant friendships with other little ones or learn from my amazing colleagues or even having them hop in and hand out cards or get ears, it’s the best environment to raise kids in…and Adalynn & Aksel are super travelers who both have been to more states and on more flights than the majority of the population! What INSPIRES you? The privilege of documenting a show and the programs of those exhibiting is hugely inspiring to me. Knowing that the images we create will be the lasting memories of an event keeps me working my hardest to provide the best photos for families, for breeders and for events. The knowledge that many of our images will impact breeding decisions and purchasing decisions is humbling. Every
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