Sacred Photo Experience

My Story
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Visual storytelling found me in the middle of my own transformation.

What began as a moment of surrender slowly revealed itself as the beginning of a calling.

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My full name is Jerithe Teresa Martinez. I carry my mother’s name, Teresa,  a woman whose courage is the root of everything I am. I was conceived in Guadalajara, Mexico, where she was born and raised. She fled her country seeking healing, possibility, and a life for me that was bigger than the one she knew. She arrived in Chicago as a single mother of 2 and gave birth to me in 1995.

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My early years were humble and full of love, from basements to small apartments, starting over again and again. My mom worked as a housekeeper at a hotel. We had no car, very little money, and took the bus everywhere. I grew up watching her resilience, her devotion, and her ability to create something out of nothing.

That is the soil my life was planted in.

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Awakening

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In 2018, after heartbreak cracked me open, I stumbled onto the raw, unfiltered introspective hypnotherapy sessions of Alba Weinman , past-life regressions, trauma release, ancestral healing, womb clearing. Her work changed everything for me. It reminded me that we are more than these bodies… more than these stories… and that healing is both ancient and sacred.

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I knew then that I wanted to explore these realms myself. In May 2026, I will begin my certification in Introspective Hypnosis with Alba Weinman, and I intend to weave this wisdom into the work I offer.

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Hawai‘i: The Turning Point

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In 2020, when the pandemic took my job and the stability I thought defined me, I listened to a quiet inner voice that told me to leap. With no plan and nothing to lose, I booked a last-minute one-way ticket to Honolulu.

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I landed with a carry-on, an aching heart, and a deep knowing that my life was about to change,  even though I had no idea how.

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When I arrived, I learned I couldn’t enter the state without a confirmed 14-day quarantine stay. I knew no one. I felt lost. I booked the cheapest motel I could find in Waikīkī and cried on the beach my first day, wondering if I had made a mistake.

Then a stranger approached me.

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A photographer named Cliff saw my pain and said, “I can tell you’re having a hard time, but you’re going to be okay.” He told me he was a photo therapist and offered to take my portrait.

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That moment changed the entire trajectory of my life.
Those sessions weren’t “photoshoots”,  they were ceremonies. I was being witnessed in the middle of my own becoming, held with compassion, and guided back to myself. It was the first time I realized photography could be a form of healing.

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Kaua‘i: The Initiation

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Soon after, I traveled to Kaua‘i and, by fate, became neighbors with Katarina Rain, a Sacred Land photographer and soulful mentor. She took me in like a sister.

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Together we explored sacred places, Koke‘e, Makaleha, Queen’s Bath, Secret Beach, Dragon’s Breath.

We made offerings to the waters.
We sang to the land.
We cried, prayed, and created from a place of presence, reverence, and truth.

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Katarina taught me what it means to photograph in prayer.
To ask permission from the Earth.
To hold every session as a ceremony.
To witness transformation rather than pose for it.

This is the foundation of my work.

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My Philosophy

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Capturing the moment, for me, is not about the perfect shot.
It's about presence.
It’s about remembrance.
It’s about helping you feel seen,  in your full power, in relationship with the Earth, and in deep connection with yourself.

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Every session is a ceremony.
Every image is a reflection of your soul.

And every moment is held with the same love, reverence, and healing that was once offered to me.

I carry this lineage, from my mother’s courage, to my own awakening, to the mentors who shaped me,  into every person I photograph.

And I offer it to you with an open heart.