Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Spring at Gibraltar's Marion Coffin Gardens

Saturday was an absolutely gorgeous day and I spent it in an absolutely gorgeous place: Gibraltar's Marion Coffin Gardens.

The Gardens are an ideal spot for portraits of all kinds, and I enjoyed meandering slowly through them taking photographs. I thought I'd share a few of them with you here.











All images © Christy Marie Photographie 2008

Friday, April 25, 2008

Monday, April 21, 2008

Ah... Spring!

Spring arrived this weekend with 80 degree temperatures in Delaware and those intermittent thunder showers that seem to only happen in April. The pink flowers on the tree across the street blossomed Saturday morning.

Here are a few of my latest pieces---inspired by this beautiful spring weather.

Because giving is better than receiving, I've decided to give a free copy of my latest piece, Tulip Season, to the first 5 people to answer this question:

What is your favorite free spring-time activity?


Mine? You guessed it. Spring walks with my camera in hand. :)

Morning or evening are best; the light at those times is exquisite. I find my day seems so much better though, when I've started my day with one of these walks. Everything seems at home---in its place---refreshed and renewed and ready for the day. Ah... Spring!

Please be sure to leave a way for me to contact you in your response. I'll email you for mailing information. I can't wait to hear about your treasured spring activities.

These prints will be available for purchase on my Etsy site within a few days.


Tulip Season, © Christy Marie Photographie 2008


Play, © Christy Marie Photographie 2008

Monday, April 14, 2008

April Showers Bring a Spring Portrait Sale


Spring Portraits at Wilmington's beautiful Gibraltar Mansion Gardens

AprilSaturday, April 26, 2008

May

Saturday, May 3, 2008

Special Portrait price these days of $75.00 for a 1 Hour family photo session. (Regularly priced at $150.00/hour. Savings of $75.00!)

Reservations are required. Available times are limited. Please email contact (at) cmphotographie.com for more information.











All images © Christy Marie Photographie 2007-2008

Sunday, April 13, 2008

Light



Love, © Christy Marie Photographie 2008

There are two ways of spreading light; to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it. ~Edith Wharton

Friday, April 11, 2008

Friendship

Aristotle thought a friend was, "A single soul dwelling in two bodies." I love that because I believe our connections with people are forged on a spiritual level. Sometimes we find it hard to explain exactly why or how someone has touched our life... we just know that they have.

I believe portraiture is like friendship. It's the photographer's job to recognize and translate the essence of the subject. One soul dwelling in two bodies, in front of and behind the camera. It's my duty to put my subject at ease, as I would a friend, so that as I click my camera I'm capturing THEM, not a once-a-year camera pose: the smile you never see except in photographs; the uncomfortable eyes that tell you your subject is self-conscious and ill at ease.

I've found myself reflecting on this the last 18 hours. Six days ago a dear friend passed away after a two year battle with cancer. Her daughter contacted me yesterday afternoon to ask permission to use a photograph I had taken of her mother; she wanted to place the photograph near her mother's casket at the viewing and funeral. Of course I agreed immediately. What struck me most about this request though was what her daughter said: even though she was clearly going through cancer treatment in this photograph, it was "so HER". My friend's beautiful soul is on display in this shot. She was clearly at ease with me in the shots I took that day---unguarded and being herself. As a result, her children feel connected to her through that photograph.

What a compliment; And what an honor. My amazing friend touched my life, and to know her was a privilege. I'm delighted I can pay her friendship back, even just a little, by representing HER to her family and friends.

Thursday, April 10, 2008

A Word on Self Portraits


Knowing, © Christy Marie Photographie 2008

















"That's the way things come clear. All of a sudden. And then you realize how obvious they've been all along." ~
Madeleine L'Engle

In the last several weeks I've stumbled on people that are struggling to understand both self portraiture as a genre and my creation of self portraits. I felt it might be helpful to explain why I feel it's an important genre and why I feel so drawn to creating my own. 


The earliest known self portrait might just have been created by Bak, the sculptor for Egyptian PharoahAkhenaten, near 1365 BC. Bak carved a representation of himself with his wife.

History is filled with artists that used self portraiture as a tool for exploring concepts, techniques, self expression, and discovery in various mediums. KahloDürer, Rembrandt, and Rubens all painted self portraits. Sherman and Goldin shot theirs. Even Ansel Adams, almost synonymous with light filled landscape photography, took them. 
Self portraiture allows me to discover, consider, celebrate, and share the many facets of me... hopes, dreams, thoughts, routines, emotions, and questions. Each time I take a self portrait, I am reaquainting myself with a part of me.
I have not always recognized myself in my life, nor allowed myself the time to stop, breathe, and get reaquainted. The self portraits I take remind me of who I am, who I intend to become, allow me to reflect on the journey I am on, get in touch with my emotions, thoughts and fears in the moment, and exercise my eye and my skill as a photographer.
My self portraits are not meant to be snapshots. Nor are they meant to be exact replicas of my physical self. They are representations of me---my soul---shy and thoughtful; happy and sad; knowing and unknowing; content yet yearning. Me. The me I see; the me I honor; the me that has been here all along, waiting to become clear.

For more information on self portraiture:
The Exploration of Self: What Artists Find When They Look in the Mirror by Jeanne Ivy

Fantastic books on the subject:
Seeing Ourselves: Women's Self-Portraits by Frances Borzello
SELF PORTRAIT Renaissance to Contemporary by Anthony Bond and Joanna Woodall

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Heart



Heart, © Christy Marie Photographie 2008

Welcome to the blog!

Welcome to Christy Marie Photographie's new blog! I hope you will find that this blog will work in tandem with myweb site (coming soon!), to keep you up to date on my work. Here you will find some of my latest favorites---the new work I'm most proud of, background information on photo shoots I've held, information on special sales, and most of all, a look at what and who is currently inspiring my work.

~ Christy Marie