Chrissie White's Photography
Wednesday, February 27, 2008I've probably just seen the most talented person on flickr. And I'm reeling. This is the kind of work that touches and scorches you with its intensity. And reflects the various moods of the photographer, quirky and serious in turns. The photographer Chrissie White is 14 (no, its not a typo, 14 is how old she is) and her work has a visual language of someone a lot more mature.
Dreamcatcher - a Native American craftwork consisting of a small hoop covered with string, yarn, or horsehair mesh and decorated with feathers and beads and believed to give its owner good dreams
"Perfection is finally attained not when there is no longer anything to add but when there is no longer anything to take away, when a body has been stripped down to its nakedness”Concept: Advertisements have made woman want to be who they are not, we will never be barbie dolls unless we starve, we will never be completely flawless unless we become nonhuman. Be who you are, and don't be afraid of it.
Background: My idea is that the woman who is holding the iron is molding and making a new "skin/person" for herself to go out in public with.
Photoshop info:I cropped this image, combined two clones of myself, edited the tones and added a vignette, blurred and sharpened parts to get a 60s esc feel.
My Daily dose of BeautyDon't be another barbie doll,
Be who you are and remember;
Beauty is not in the face;
beauty is a light in the heart.
Found the doll heads at a vintage thrift shop near my beach house, they were only 25 cents so i got 5 for props! :) i could not think of what to use them for at all until i did a shoot before this one with the teacup and plate. i have no idea what posessed me to do so, but i arranged the heads on a plate and went from there.
artnlight: When did you start shooting pictures & when did you discover photoshop ? :)
Chrissie White: I started taking pictures when i was very young [my first camera was a cheap film camera and it was clear so you could see the inside of it!] but i only started taking photos as a real hobby about a year and a half ago. I discovered photoshop first when my cousin gave me the cd, about the same time i first got into photography, although i never really used it until the summer of 2007. [about 9 months ago]
artnlight: When did it become the obsession that it clearly is?
CW: It became an obsession when i realized that i am much better with pictures than words.
CW: It became an obsession when i realized that i am much better with pictures than words.
artnlight: Is there any particular photographer/artist who has influenced you in a big way?
CW: My friend Elle was a huge inspiration/influence at first, she was the one who basically inspired me to pick up a camera and take photos. I wanted to be as good as her at taking photos--or atleast feel that way. And now i think i have achieved that goal, though her imaginative brain and kind words still continue to inspire me day after day.Recently however, i have come across the work of Joewy Lawrence, and Claudia goetzelmann. Seeing what those two photographers can do has made me want to push forward and be as great a photographer as i can be. Their work is the type of stuff i want to be associated with when i am older.
CW: My friend Elle was a huge inspiration/influence at first, she was the one who basically inspired me to pick up a camera and take photos. I wanted to be as good as her at taking photos--or atleast feel that way. And now i think i have achieved that goal, though her imaginative brain and kind words still continue to inspire me day after day.Recently however, i have come across the work of Joewy Lawrence, and Claudia goetzelmann. Seeing what those two photographers can do has made me want to push forward and be as great a photographer as i can be. Their work is the type of stuff i want to be associated with when i am older.
a. What inspires you daily?
CW:My largest inspiration is simply the world around me, I have always been pretty observant and i notice and treasure the small bits and pieces of beauty in this world that can only be seen if you truly look. If i had to be specific though, I'd say ideas come flooding through my head when i simply see an every day object, or occurance--I juggle the ideas silently in my head until i am satisfied enough to attempt to capture what i have just imagined.
" invasion of?!?! who? omg it's me! :b my FIRST cloning picture so bear with me.this was very fun to do.i was running around the yard at like 6 o clock doing random yard stuff.i bet the neighbor had a good laugh..."
a: Whats the 1st thought you wake up with/sleep on?CW:My largest inspiration is simply the world around me, I have always been pretty observant and i notice and treasure the small bits and pieces of beauty in this world that can only be seen if you truly look. If i had to be specific though, I'd say ideas come flooding through my head when i simply see an every day object, or occurance--I juggle the ideas silently in my head until i am satisfied enough to attempt to capture what i have just imagined.
" invasion of?!?! who? omg it's me! :b my FIRST cloning picture so bear with me.this was very fun to do.i was running around the yard at like 6 o clock doing random yard stuff.i bet the neighbor had a good laugh..."
CW: Well, to be honest it's " crap i have to get up for school" or "crap i have to go to sleep and wake up for school tomorrow"But besides that, i also think about my goals of who i want to be in the next day, or week, or year. And usually, it's related to photography. I can't help but think about taking pictures almost every second of the day, and I have yet to discover an activity that i can participate in without thinking of actually taking photos at the time. In other words, I can't imagine what else i'd like to do with my life than be a photographer and I am so lucky i've found something that makes me truly happy.
"Perhaps the most important thing we can undertake toward the reduction of fear is to make it easier for people to accept themselves, to like themselves. "
artnlight: You put in a lot of thought into your work- some of it is very thought provoking. an example is the mirror photograph. - where does that come from- is it a direct result of some incident that happened or the result of some movie you've seen or book?
CW: That photo is an example of who i am, and how i feel as an individual sometimes. I am most comfortable when it's just myself, and my camera. I am very self concious and can be shy at times, but through photography i have the chance to show who i *really* am, and maybe one day i'll take an iconic image and leave an everlasting imprint on someones heart. As for all my other photos, they are bits and pieces of my soul and they almost always have a hidden message if not apparent, I am a story teller with no words... which i find amazing. I also like to make art when i'm feeling irrational, because i believe that is the only time we are truly sane...when we are out of our minds.
artnlight: You put in a lot of thought into your work- some of it is very thought provoking. an example is the mirror photograph. - where does that come from- is it a direct result of some incident that happened or the result of some movie you've seen or book?
CW: That photo is an example of who i am, and how i feel as an individual sometimes. I am most comfortable when it's just myself, and my camera. I am very self concious and can be shy at times, but through photography i have the chance to show who i *really* am, and maybe one day i'll take an iconic image and leave an everlasting imprint on someones heart. As for all my other photos, they are bits and pieces of my soul and they almost always have a hidden message if not apparent, I am a story teller with no words... which i find amazing. I also like to make art when i'm feeling irrational, because i believe that is the only time we are truly sane...when we are out of our minds.
mary, mary, quite contrary, how does your garden grow?
i don't care, as mine is a charm,
so i wouldn't want to know.
i've a secret garden with a mad man in a hat,
and a drugged up white rabbit, so stop for a chat!
we're oh so untidy but don't be put off
don't you laugh or you jeer or give me a scoff
if you're quiet I'll invite you into the sky
to drink tea and eat crumpets and crisp apple pie
we'll chit and we'll chat and we'll calmy converse
where gravity's dead in this flipped universe.
collaboration photo with Elle. elle did toning and poem [ and took the photo of herself and her hair]
a: Some of your work is also collaborative- thats amazing and results in some stunning work. Is there something u want to say about that & the people (your friends) you work with?
CW: Team work is always better, Team work is always beautiful, Team work creates a silent bond between two people, but only if you do just that--team work.I could not have created any collaborative pieces without the other person, those art pieces are as much theirs as they are mine. We are two people who share one of the most beautiful and amazing things you will ever see in this life time, and that is art and the power to express one's emotions in something simply breath taking.
"Recently i watched the movie "pay it forward", the whole idea is of a boy with an alchoholic mother, and an inspiring teacher--the teacher at the beginning of the year tells the kids they need to reach out and make a difference in the world as an assignment, though he never really expected any of them to take it really seriously. But the boy does, his idea is to do three really really good/life changing things for three people, then instead of those three people paying him back they pay it forwards by each doing three more good things for three people [each so it would equal 9 people] and so on. I thought that was the most incredible idea ever :) - i made a little tribute to the movie, the thing i'm holding is a diagram.the movie has inspired a real life movement: pay it forward foundation so go out, and help a neighbor with his trash once in awhile! and paint his house while your at it to! [ ehehe no crazy neon colors though please!]
ps. incase you were wondering, yes...i did actually print this photo out, rip it up, and staple and tape it.;p artsy no?"
"Recently i watched the movie "pay it forward", the whole idea is of a boy with an alchoholic mother, and an inspiring teacher--the teacher at the beginning of the year tells the kids they need to reach out and make a difference in the world as an assignment, though he never really expected any of them to take it really seriously. But the boy does, his idea is to do three really really good/life changing things for three people, then instead of those three people paying him back they pay it forwards by each doing three more good things for three people [each so it would equal 9 people] and so on. I thought that was the most incredible idea ever :) - i made a little tribute to the movie, the thing i'm holding is a diagram.the movie has inspired a real life movement: pay it forward foundation so go out, and help a neighbor with his trash once in awhile! and paint his house while your at it to! [ ehehe no crazy neon colors though please!]ps. incase you were wondering, yes...i did actually print this photo out, rip it up, and staple and tape it.;p artsy no?"
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