Meet Christine Barker . . .

Christine Barker

“Of course, in order to make art, the frustration of not working has to be greater than the frustration of working. I try to push images as far as I can. Sometimes I go too far, then as time passes, I think, “That was stupid or overkill” or whatever. But you have to go to those places. You can’t just say, “We have an hour to talk on the phone, let’s only be profound.” You start wherever you can and then you work at it.”

~Jerry Uelsmann

Location: Baltimore (Towson), Md
DOB: 04/29/1978
Children: Liam (1.5 years)
Husband: Cary
Animals: Not right now

Contact Info:

(social site) www.christinebarker.us
(Email) cbarker3241@me.com

Name of Business: Christine Barker Photography (C Barker Photography)
Website: http://www.cbarkerphotography.com/
Blog: http://www.christinebarker.us/
Facebook: Yes
Twitter: Sometimes
Skype: always
Linked In: I try

Most all can be found on my social site.

What's in your bag? (if you are building your bag, what do you desire for your bag?)

Currently in bag:

Cameras:  Canon 5d ; Canon T2 (35mm) ; Hulga (120mm film toy camera) ; Sony Cyber-shoot

Lenses:  Canon 55-250mm 4-5.6 EF-S ; 100mm macro 2.8 EF; Borrowed Lenses (relative with more camera stuff) 50mm 1.2 EF ; 16-35mm Ultra Wide Angle 2.8 EF ; 24-70mm 2.8 EF

Darkroom:  Color enlarger (even though I only develop B&W) ; Medium format and 35mm development supplies.

What's your favorite editing software?

My dark room is what I am most comfortable in. Two weeks ago I downloaded Lightroom, and purchased a student edition of Photoshop (it was required for one of my classes anyway). I am hoping to become more used to the software soon.

Favorite Food: Surf and Turf     Favorite Color: Pastels     

Zodiac Sign: Ooofff ….Im an Irish Taurus , Poor hubby

A few of your favorite things? (other than photography):

My son’s laughter. * Sigh* Ice cream. The rain.

What and/or who inspires you?

Seeing the love expressed within families. Things like the love of a mother, the caring of brother and sisters, or the tender heart of a father. OR seeing the passion on the face of someone completely enthralled with one of my photos… that can ALWAYS keep me going.

Name something you just have to have everyday:

COFFEE! And laughter. (not suggested at the very exact same moment, but work nicely together overall)

Tell us all about your journey into the world of photography. When did you realize that this is what you wanted to do and why:

This is kind of funny, well not really so funny… ok scratch the funny… cuz only funny to me doesn’t mean funny to everyone else. (Mental note – PLEASE stop arguing with yourself on paper… its just crazy talk… or type) Ok, back to the question. I was in school taking a biology course. In order to defer my student loans from my associates degree I needed another class to keep me in part time status. I signed up for a photography course because I thought it would be fun. I mean I had been taking photos with my point and shoot and had a passion for capturing the moment. Little did I know how much I was to thoroughly enjoy it. At first I had a feeling of guilt. I was sure that most of my family was going to look down on me for desiring a profession in the arts. After all … its not really work.. right? Something in the back of my head kept telling myself that I should enjoy what I work at anyway. So I kept pressing my professor for information as to where I could find employment in the profession. His answer was to check out some of the local photographers and see if any of them would hire me as an assistant.

I looked around locally and had a hard time finding someone hiring. I went back to my professor and asked him for advice; the best he came up with was for me to check out the PhotoExpo in New York…. It was that weekend. I scrambled to figure out what to do. We had no expendable expenses. I figured if I stayed with friends I could get in on a student pass for 60.00 but I wanted to hear from photographers.

I decided to sign up for a few of the lectures, but only a couple so I could keep expenses down. I saw Joe Buissink and Me Ra Koh. I also saw such passion for photography that upon my return home, I began to think that one really could make a living at this profession, the “they could do it, so I could too” syndrome.

The interest was there, but when Me Ra posted the announcement of SOAR I was immediately in! Admittedly my video was not all that creative. After I submitted it, I backed myself up saying that if I could say out loud that this is what I wanted to do; I could then do it.

If you already have a photography business please tell us about it, type of photography you do, how long you have been doing it, etc...

I do not currently have a photography business, but would love to revisit this question next year.

If you are dreaming of starting your business, what are you learning and/or doing to move you towards your goal?

I have decided to obtain an art degree, and enrolled full time to Towson University. I have proposed to many of our friends and family that I do some photography work for them. By signing up for school we had to find a babysitter to watch our son for the very few hours in the day I will be in school. Come to find out she became engaged over the winter break, will be married this summer, and would love for me to take her pictures. By talking to my friends and family I have two other people interested in me taking photos for them. This wont produce income, but it will allow me to build a portfolio, and with it being friends who have no expectations that I have created (I’ve been very upfront explaining my semester in school, but little experience otherwise). I can do it in a fairly low stressful situation.

Who is your favorite photographer that you follow and why?

I have a few. I love Jerry Uelsmann’s hand developed photos. They are surreal, and most are hard to tell that he did NOT use Photoshop. Joe Buissink because of his feeling behind his photography. Last but most certainly NOT least Me Ra Koh because of her vibrancy for photography and an AMAZING mind for business and marketing.

Besides photography, what else do you do, i.e. work, domestic engineer, volunteer?

I am a full time student. I have two rental properties (one is the top floor of my house, so its not to intensive), and I am a full time mom (hubs watches the young one when I am in school). My husband works a full time Mon-Fri 8-5 job, then teaches masters classes at a local university in the evening and now has started his Phd in information security. (we just give up on sleep and breathing, its how we get it all done) But, no, really, we just like to stay very busy.

What are some of your other hobbies and/or things that you like to do besides photography?

My husband and I make homemade …. stuff. We have homemade soap, jewelry, clothing (even my wedding dress was hand sewn by me). Meade…etc

Do you have any other businesses that you are incorporating and/or combining in your photography business or that is separate other than photography?

My husband and I had a few rental properties. Ok, wait, stay with me. From going though the process of buying and selling houses we have an appreciation for the process, and a new friend in our real estate agent. I have asked her to take pictures of her next couple of houses to see if she likes the photos I take (hence the reason for borrowing the Ultra Wide Angle in my “bag”). Hopefully if all goes well, she will see potential in my work, and promote me to others in her office.

If there is one thing in the world that you would like to change, what would that be and why?

I would like to change the comfort level of those children that struggle with family issues that are above their age level. Divorce, alcoholism, drug abuse, unemployment, separation from siblings, and abuse are some of the issues I dealt with well before I should have as a child. For any one child that I help though a time such I feel as if my previous situation was for a purpose.

Name three things you would like to do before you die?

1. Run my own successful photography business.
2. Travel over seas
3. See my grandchildren as happy as I hope their parents will be.

List three goals you would like to accomplish in 2010:

1. Progress though building my portfolio and make it to the point where I can feel confidant charging for my services.

2. Successfully complete three semesters of college (summer semester included)

3. Have my writing grow to the point where I don’t feel like I offend everyone I write to…. It’s a confidence thing…

Please tell us about the photos you are submitting and why they are your favorites.

My photos start with my favorite of my son. It was Halloween and my husband, who was unable to find a Dalmatian outfit for my son’s first real trick or treating adventure, came home with a small cow outfit. I borrowed a DSLR camera from a family member for the local trick or treat night and followed my husband taking my son around from door to door to gather candy. The period of time that my son was interested in performing said task was a very short period. I love how the picture has so much blur. I feel like that was the feeling of the entirety of Halloween for us. He was so cute and scared, but still it was over quickly. That is the same feeling I get from the photo.

The second picture is one I “fixed” in Photoshop. My son’s vision is so impressively bad that my brother put my son’s glasses up to his face. After about 10 seconds his eyes watered so bad that he couldn’t look though them much more. Which means as an older sister I made him do it again so I could take a picture of how big the glasses made his eyes look. It shows our sense of humor I think, it’s a great funny photo. I added blur and removed as much clarity as I could.

The third photo is one I took again with a the same borrowed camera from Halloween. I wanted to scope out a place for one of my class assignments so I would use the digital to see how it was and then shoot the 35mm (hey man, times is tough). We were at a local park and I chased my son around with a macro lens, and with some luck got a few shots of ONLY his face. I love this pic.

Lastly is a photo that I am sure will come out very small. Taken with my Sony point and shoot about 14 days after my son was born it is the one I have hanging in my house as soon as you come in my front door. Can you tell my son is my favorite subject, but really, what mother doesn’t have their child as a favorite subject?

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Thank you Christine for sharing more of yourself with your Sisters. 

  Christine has graciously taken on the challenge of heading up the

SOAR Hall of Fame, which is now in the works. 

Her ideas and hard work mean so much,

as you will all find out soon when the Hall of Fame is revealed. 

 Good Luck Christine with your photography journey, you are going to be great!