Contemporary Artist Interview with Natalie Christensen

  High End Photography Services NYC is my usual subject matter in my blog. However, I found Natalie Christensen through a cold email she sent me. I was instantly infatuated with her work. The dizzying beauty of the Southwest. Her rich yet muted palette. It left me thirsting for more. Naturally,  I interviewed her for my Contemporary Artists Series. Read on to learn more about her journey and her delightfully sunny disposition. It matches her photography me thinks. "My interest in high end photography as an artistic pursuit happened after moving to Santa Fe, New Mexico in 2014. Actually, I didn't start making photos until later in 2015 or so. Having never considered photography prior to this, I think I was approaching  this place like a tourist would. Santa Fe has cultivated a certain myth about itself. Furthermore, it looks and feels so different from any other American city. When I began sharing my work on social media, and honestly, I am not sure how this happened,  I quickly discovered an obsession for making and sharing photography.

The role of Instagram in my journey has not been small.

It is where I educated my eye, found what I liked, and developed my support network - an entire global community of artists – many of whom are genuine friends now. At that time, I was using my iPhone, I had never owned a “real” camera – they intimidated me because of their technical aspects. Somehow, I decided to push through that, and around late 2016 I bought my first one and taught myself to use it. I spent hours and hours roaming Santa Fe and shooting all kinds of subject matter. Although, I did settle on my current approach quickly. In 2017 I applied to Review Santa Fe. That is when I started to take myself seriously as an artist. Fast forward to now. And I can say I am just as passionate as when I began. Truly, I am at my happiest when I am shooting." 

It Goes without Saying that a Photographer Must Have Creative Vision.

• What is the story your fine art subject matter tells?

I started photography in mid-life, and for me, this work is about exploration of self. An inner dialogue with otherwise ordinary spaces that I see as meaningful symbols in my journey as a human. By focusing on objects and spaces that are so familiar – a swimming pool, or a closed door, or a trash bin – I am expressing my fascination in what these things symbolically represent. Because these objects are so ordinary, most of us have some kind of association we can make to them. If I can combine that object or place with light and color, and then introduce a suggestion of slight unease, then I feel I have told the story that is important for me.

• Clearly you Possess Great Resourcefulness. How did you arrive at this subject matter?

I arrived at this subject matter through trial and error I suppose, and also just deciding what I liked best. Of all the kinds of images I made – I gravitated to a particular set that were my favorite and I just kept doing that. My professional background is as a psychotherapist, and I practiced for 25 years. I also spent a lot of time doing my own personal work with a Jungian analyst and that influence is very strong in my photography.  

• The Photographer Must Know How To Bring Out Beauty in Everyday Objects and how to Observe High End Photography.

One of the things I naturally do is look for patterns – in my life, in my personal choices, in my family of origin. I did the same thing with my photographs. At first, I was just taking pictures – or so I thought. As I started to amass a lot of images, I just looked at what was there and started placing them in categories and asking myself – why so many photos of trash dumpsters? Why so many swimming pools? Why so many closed doors? As a person who thinks symbolically, it all started to make sense to me.

• You seem infatuated with the light of the Southwest. I can feel the heat from here. You are Clearly Seizing the Opportunity of the Light.

The southwestern light is the whole reason I started making photos! I didn’t understand that at first – I don’t think I was consciously aware of the power of it and how it translates in images. In my early exploration of photography, I was making most of my work when the sun was high – mid-day shooting – because that fit with my life at the time. The light at that time of day became an element in my work that is still very important. The bright light creates a surreal flatness that I love. It can also convey an odd dream-like quality that pushes the ordinary subject matter into another realm.

• Tell us About your Fine Art Training.

My educational background in psychology and social work. As of yet,I have not pursued any formal fine art training or education. I have always been infatuated with color, form, space. Seemingly, it has expressed itself through my living environment. It took moving to the Santa Fe, aka the Land of Enchantment, to reveal that part of me. As a self-taught artist, I have been fortunate to find mentors in art who have offered invaluable guidance in writing about my work. Furthermore, their help in sequencing projects, as well as directing me to specific photographers whose work possesses characteristics of high end photography, has been a gift.

• Lastly, would you ever trade? I am in love with your work.

YES!  Interview by NYC Wedding Photographer and Blogger Angela Cappetta  Characteristics of a High End Photography Service NYCNo content may be reproduced without express written permission.