If you find yourself asking, ‘why?’

Posted on November 15, 2018 by Cliff

I ask client about a photo session.
Her reply, written later, “I found it awkward because any picture I do have of my self is for some sort of accomplishment. There is a reason or purpose in documenting that moment in time. I earned it. Never would I be photographed without reason and I didn’t have one. I felt to have a photograph of myself, aside from the usual selfie, would make me arrogant.

“If you find yourself asking why, here is my answer, “Woman by their very creation are walking, talking works of art. Way too many have lost the concept of their beauty. Woman as Art is a project that celebrates the masterpiece in all of them.”

Choosing to Be Vulnerable

Posted on March 24, 2017 by Cliff

“Wanting to be someone else is a waste of the person you are.”
― Marilyn Monroe
We all seem to get stuck in things that we believe are true. Especially when it comes to our own self. That’s why I tell clients to “be open to the experience that could change you.”
A client wrote after her session recently, “There is something about choosing to be vulnerable, about seeing yourself from a different perspective and trusting in something unknown that is both powerful and therapeutic.”Because realizing who you are is a mind-blowing experience, compared to spending your life wanting to be someone else.

Phenomenal Woman

Posted on February 15, 2017 by Cliff

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It’s in the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman.

-Maya Angelou

The Sculpture in Dance

Posted on December 1, 2016 by Cliff

Grace visited my studio a couple of Sundays ago, and I asked her to be en pointe – which apparently was something she hadn’t done in about 4 years. It was clear from the moment she entered the studio that her talent is a force to be reckoned with. Some of the images that follow are pure dance technique (as approved by Grace) and some are just captures of her being a – work of art.

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Scarred, Stretched, and Jiggling

Posted on August 30, 2016 by Cliff

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The model’s own words, “You’d be hard pressed to find even an inch of my body that isn’t scarred, stretched, or jiggling. But I AM BEAUTIFUL and no one can convince me otherwise. My body is all mine and it’s been through the wringer and now it’s more a work of art than its ever been.”

Dance is Moving Sculpture

Posted on August 5, 2016 by Cliff

The title, a quote from Pablito Greco.

It is an honor to be able to freeze those moments of female humanity, and preserve in the camera a sense of the fluid sculpture that a woman is… IMG_7463w

Michelangelo said, “I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.”

My job is much easier. The angels are all around. I find the light and then push the button.

I’m Me in the Most Imperfect Way

Posted on July 22, 2016 by Cliff

“I feel like I’m in love with myself. In no way shape or form am I perfect. But I’m me in the most imperfect way.”

“I’ve looked at it 1,000 times. It shows me as a woman, and not as a girl. I can see maturity and it reminds me of all of the things that’s happened in my life, good and bad.”

“I look like a different person than I used to be. And I am. But at first it sort of freaked me out, I was like wow! But the more I looked at it, the happier it made me. I realized I was exactly where I wanted to be.”

“It may just look like a picture but it means more than that to me.”

The words are the model’s own.

Brandi

Posted on June 25, 2016 by Cliff

When you get to photograph a dancer… Brandi is 6 months pregnant in this photo, by the way.

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Infamous

Posted on September 7, 2014 by Cliff

Like many young and single mothers, Emily struggled following the birth of her daughter.

Karlee is now three and a beautiful and happy child, and I anticipate photographing her soon. But the stress of caring for Karlee took a toll on Emily. Having a place of her own, paying bills, working 40+ hour weeks and soon the stress was taking its toll. Throw in the loss of a dearly loved brother and a few other things and soon Em weighed less than 100 pounds.

98 pounds, to be exact.

Emily came to me for photographs because she’s happy where she is now. In a good place in her life, remembering the special moments.

She is perhaps, just starting to realize that she has a long way on the road in life, but will always be, a beautiful Work of Art.

Oh and by the way, “Infamous” is a tattoo that graces her lower torso.

The Beauty of Pregnancy

Posted on April 15, 2014 by Cliff

As often as I get a chance to, I use my camera to celebrate the beauty of pregnancy.

There’s something special about creating these images, even when the model elects to pose in a more modest manner, as is certainly her right to do. I speak with many women who seem ashamed of they way they look when they’re pregnant, when in fact they should be PROUD. Ladies I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – the mirror that you look at; the one you see yourself in daily – is lying to you. You are far more beautiful than what it shows to you.

I’m happy to say my camera and I have been a part of this woman’s life for several years. I photographed her wedding, both of her pregnancies, and her and her children several other times as well. I consider her a close friend.

Woman as Art

"Be open to the experience that could change you."

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