Featured Artist

Christina Brosnan
    Please welcome Christina Brosnan, this week's featured artist.  I came to know of Christina's work because she was the photographer for the wedding of my friends Jaime and Tom, in Adare Ireland.  When I saw the photographs that Christina had taken of the Adare wedding I was totally floored by beauty of her photographs, so much so that I decided to make a painting based on one of her photographs.  I was also surprised to find that Ms. Brosnan is originally from Chicago, my current home! 
    Christina Brosnan has been studying and practicing photography for 10 years.  She attended College of DuPage in Chicago and after graduating went on to study at Speos Photographic Institute in Paris.  She runs Brosnan Photographic, in Ireland, with her husband, Colin.  Christina loves photography and documenting people.

What is the most or some of the most interesting locations in which you've taken wedding photographs?
For me I find pleasure in photographing in new locations. The best locations I've worked in were Thailand and London. I was fortunate enough to photograph a friends wedding in Bangkok. The Thai traditions are so different from western traditions. I also recently photographed an engagement session in London. I love photographing in big cities. There is so much around you that makes for a great backdrop, such as a busy street with lots of people or a simple doorway. There is usually a lot more colour to be found in a city rather than a forest or park. But they can work equally as well especially in Autumn when the leaves are changing colours or during sunset with the warm glow.

Do you find yourself to be partial to photographs produced in a certain type of daylight (morning light, bright sunshine, overcast light, dusk light, etc)?
I've never been particular about the time of day I photograph. I think you can always capture a great photo whether it's sunny, cloudy, sunset or sunrise. If you always photograph at the same time of day in the same light conditions your photos will always look the same and every couple wants something a little different from the next so it's good to be able to photograph in any light condition. Having said that I generally try and avoid shooting midday in the sun. You can get some terrible shadows with the sun at it's highest.

I think one of the most striking things about your portrait photography is that you photograph people on location and not in a studio.  What do you find most interesting about photographing people in a location of their choosing?
It's the same as painting a picture. You don't paint a portrait of someone on a white background, you paint them in their environment. Putting people against a plain background seems stagnant. You can really create a masterpiece with shooting on location. You don't need to bring in props, everything around you is a prop. I really like to capture people being natural and there's nothing natural about putting them in front of a white background.

I really appreciate Christina sharing her work with us!  Be sure to check out the Brosnan Photographic website to see more of her photographs. 

What do you think of Christina's lovely photographs?