Hi, I am Arleta Turnbull.
I am a trauma-informed, multidimensional photographer living in the Comox Valley.
As a trained and practicing mental health and energy healing practitioner, I help humans share their healing stories through photography and art. I specialize in my grounding connection to people while supporting them in their Being, their healing journey, and the alchemy of pain into art. I offer a unique creative experience that draws you into the mysteries of seeing beyond what you can imagine. I invite you to join me in experiencing this journey together. Book a heart-storming session to get the juices flowing!
Portrait of Arleta (Yellow Petal Photo) captured by Erin Kotyk of Petals of Whimsy in her home studio.
As your photographer, I vow to:
Listen to your vision - as you share your dreams & aspirations - to bring it all to life in the most authentic way possible.
Ask thoughtful questions to arrive at your soul work's highest expression.
Support the planning process, so you don't have to do it alone.
Mindfully capture you in your most authentic self, as you are.
Support the holistic alignment of your dreams.
our session PROCESS
Divine Timing
Your session with Yellow Petal happens at the perfect time. Whether you've been manifesting something magical to take place in your life, or you're ready to share your story, you will be connected with YPP in divine timing. This energy carries us through the rest of the creative journey, from time/date of booking to the energy exchange process, to the after care (post session).
Energy Exchange
Our energy exchange process involves mindfulness around affordability, accessibility, and fairness. YPP offers a book now, pay later solution to support any financial situation. Your story should not be limited by your ability to pay for it to be shared.
A booking fee is required at the time of booking a session for session confirmation. This fee is refundable, upon extenuating circumstances. The remainder of the session fee will be due upon delivery of the finalized gallery. This provides you with supportive buffer space for those who cannot pay in full, at the time of the booking.
Alchemy
Our shared creative expression is developed and expanded into through sharing stories and experiences throughout the session. These sharing opportunities are guided by you and are supported through appropriate trauma informed energy practitioner training and experience. There is no expectation to share, however, it may benefit your healing journey and the story that wants to come through during the session. The finalized gallery represents the moment and energy in time where you were seen, heard and validated, as a human experiencing this time and space.
Self Care
Self care is a foundational value to the work of Yellow Petal. It's important to practice self care rituals prior to and post session.
Yellow Petal will provide you with supportive guidance before, during, and following a session. These guidelines are simply that - to guide you toward your Inner Healer - and do not require to be implemented if you do not feel they are appropriate for your experience.
Testimonials
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Kristy Walton
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It all started with a dream.
Arleta's Story
Arleta was born in Athens, Greece to Polish migrants, after their exodus from Poland at the end of the Communist regime. Eventually, the family made their way to Canada in the early '90s, a tremendous feat and one that none of her ancestors dared to experience before.
Arriving in Canada and fluent in both Polish and Greek, her childhood consisted of learning a new language (at age 5), making new friends, and learning the religious curriculums of the Western world.
Her sense of wonder and expansive perspective in life were taught and nurtured by her parents while she was growing up. As a child, she had the blended perspective of a democratic and disciplined upbringing. Her parents were hardworking immigrants that provided her with the space to learn and experience life in a very different way than they had, even on days when the old country would creep in and blanket her with protection. She was appointed responsibility at a young age, after the birth of her sister, where she went on to take on the role of caregiver, translator, and diplomat, in the household, her own personal upbringing and her parents unfolding careers.
The two common denominators to it all were creative thinking and intuitive feeling.
Arleta's explorations into art started at a young age when she won a colouring competition (yay for free Crayola colouring supplies!) at a local store, and then, a Remembrance Day poster design in the second grade.
It was not until she had a major accident involving the surgery of her right (dominant arm) in 2006 that art really came into her life. Cooped up inside, on heavy painkillers, unable to play on the sports teams she was registered for, she began to explore surreal drawing - coming up with concepts that were born in her mind. The drawings continued as she pursued art and photography in high school and was voted "Most Artistic" by her peers upon graduating from a class of 235 in her senior year.
She was always inspired by the magnificent desktop wallpapers on her family computer from the day Windows ME made its appearance on the consumer market. She longed to take photos that resembled something similar. That's where the passion and expansion into the digital dimensions began. She thanks the lucky stars for the privilege of having a family computer growing up, as troublesome as it was at times.
In 2008, she met the love of her life and moved to Calgary to attend post-secondary education. She would draw here and there, whenever she felt called. The intention was always to release the mind. The first camera phones came out, as well as social media and the idea of virtual communities and she found herself enthralled with the idea of sharing her most special moments with her friends, even if they couldn't be there with her.
By 2010, she had invested in a proper camera and would dive into the world of self-teaching, driven by her thirst and passion for knowledge and technology.
2016 was the year she began allowing other people into her process, as a collaboration. She began to discover the mirrors that existed all around her, through the people she photographed.
2017 was a difficult year in her health and safety career and she spiralled into a depression, seeking community and justice. That's when she connected herself to the Calgary yoga community and embarked on the journey of telling the stories of people who were striving to be better, to consistently show up for the collective, all while developing the self and the energy around them. This is when her Flower of Life collection was planted in the garden of the spiritually connected human experience.
The rest of the story is open to the conversation during a session with her. She enjoys expanding into the depths of the emotional and metaphysical energy bodies that shape our characters. Although she may be a stranger, she has the gift of acceptance and groundedness that goes a long way in helping you feel seen in your truth. The storytelling and conversations that take place are locked away in the pixels of the images, as a form of manifesting life's greatest desires.
Arleta's Philosophy on her Expression
If we choose to show up open-hearted, the process renders magic.
Deep relief is an outcome of this process with the emotive deceleration that arrives when you are least expecting it to - the release.
Flower of Life Collection
The goal of her work, known as the Flower of Life collection, is to bring a sense of curiosity and introspective discovery to the observer. Her process of photographic storytelling is a highly intuitive one that renders a mystical and other-worldly ambiance. It is not something you can really plan for, but rather, something you learn to accept and surrender to.
Heart-Full Brands Served to Date
Sea & Weave
Awakening Sol
Hightide Designs
Petals of Whimsy
Market of Stars
The Chiefs Daughter
Lululemon
Otahpiaaki Fashion Week
Lauren Hutchings
Jessica LeBlanc
Nourish Sweat Soul
Corq Yoga
Sheep Creek Yoga Collective
Lucent Festival
Limbus Movement
Rowan Explores
Passage Yoga Studio
Well and Nourished Life
Sydney Guevermont (Retreat)
Karissa (MakeUp Artist)
Eli B (Fashion Designer & Model)
Amy Thiessen
Alice Hong
The Enchantress Well
Lisa Hillyer
Deanna Drudge (Canadian Singer/Songwriter)
Megan Rae Jewelry
Sand and Stone Designs
Amy Englemark
The CommonWellth
Boring Little Girls Club
Get Fractals
Hourglass Jewelry
Featured in:
Royal Alberta Museum (Human History (feat works of Karli Crowshoe) exhibit)
RAW artists
Tourism Comox Valley