From Pete: Shades of Gray: Master and Apprentices: Buster Cooper, Nate Najar, and Jim Morey

You know her work from the last two issues of Pete, including Shades of Gray, on stands now, where she’s so expertly helped us orchestrate and capture a slice of the social fabric that makes up the city of St. Petersburg.

Perhaps it was her first gig as a 15-year-old intern at the Tulsa CBS affiliate that inspired Elise Schreiner to pursue an education at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communications. But it was an eagerness to "be in the thick of it" that landed her a gig at NBC covering the re-unification of Germany after the fall of communism.  

That experience also turned out to be her first “now what” moment as she and colleagues watched in horror while NBC Morning Show host Bryant Gumbel told the world what a shame it was the newly formed government had torn down the iconic statue above the Brandenburg Gate when in all actuality, it had only been removed to be cleaned.

After her own brief stint in front of the camera at stations in Oklahoma, Texas and Ft. Myers, she tried her hand at public relations for the Florida Department of Transportation, representing 12 counties in South Florida.

Yet, the self-described late bloomer who had dabbled in still photography didn’t find a real interest until her son Zane was born. It was through the love of her first-born that she found a true love for photography. That and a little luck brought her a first commercial gig in the form of a photographer that desperately needed a second shooter to join her last minute on a wedding shoot. The rest, as they say, is history.

Since then, Elise’s talent has brought her a true spectrum of clients from corporations like Clear Channel Entertainment to new mothers, families and brides to be.

Kid Rock

Starting next week, the Downtown St. Pete page is proud to introduce an ongoing extension of our Shades of Gray issue by Elise called Snapshots featuring more of who and what, makes our city so grand.

Stay tuned, and enjoy.

To see more of her work, visit her website here or check out her blog. You can also reach Elise at 727-385-1962.

And you can still pick up a copy of the latest issue of Pete to see more of her black and whites at the following locations: BellaBrava, 400 Beach Seafood and Tap House, Parkshore Grill, Vue 19, St Pete Brasserie, The Globe Coffee Lounge, Muvico Theaters BayWalk 20, The Studio@620 & both Kahwa locations.