Today we’d like to introduce you to Cee Anastasia.
Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
My love of photography and adventure started as a child. Some of my fondest memories are of my father and how he always had his Minolta 35mm film camera or RCA VHS camcorder in his hand during our adventures. I even remember playing with this pink Vivitar L.A Brites camera that my mother had. My mom worked days and my father worked nights but he would still take me on adventures during the day to take photos at the beach or out chasing freight trains. My family also took annual camping trips in Pismo Beach, CA and annual snow trips to Sequoia National Park. I still have almost every home video my father made from our family trips and endless photos of growing up.
When I was near graduating high school, my father gave me his Minolta. However, I wasn’t an expert in using it and since I was beginning college and needed money for books… regretfully, I sold it. To this day I wish I could go back in time and re-do that decision because who knows where I would be in my photography career if I had just kept it. Fast forward through the next decade or so, I still had my love of adventure and photography, but all I could really afford was a simple Kodak point and shoot digital camera. Either that or like most people nowadays I had my trusty cell phone cameras as they’ve progressed over the years. However, I always promised myself I’d save enough money to buy a “real” camera one day and really develop my love of photography from more than just a hobby but into a career.
Finally, in 2017 I became pregnant with my first child and my boyfriend suggested we buy a “good” camera to document all the things to come. What I thought was a shopping trip at Best Buy for “our” camera was really a way to trick me into picking the camera I wanted so that he could gift it to me. I am so thankful to my father for instilling a love of this art form within me and grateful to my boyfriend for being the catalyst to embarking on my dream career. I would be nowhere without my muse, my daughter. The last year of my life has been the most freeing in every sense of the word because of them.
Please tell us about your art.
I’m trying to give the world the genuine beauty before me at the moment I experience it, whether it be a landscape or person. Freeze that second in time to use as a positive reference later. I can only hope the people that I photograph will walk away feeling rejuvenated, seeing their own true selves without judgment, just like I view them. That they will realize their own power, strength and beauty without comparison to others. The ocean is beautiful, the desert is beautiful, and the mountains and forests are beautiful. They all exist together, even blending into one another, each with their own quiet strength, yet none is trying to be like the other. They just… are.
I hope I can encourage people to just “Be” as well and evoke those feelings upon them when they view my photos.
What do you think is the biggest challenge facing artists today?
I think artists face multiple challenges in this day and age with the power and influence of technology and social media. Comparison, competition, burnout, the struggle to always be original, the fight to always give credit where it is due, the desire to be relevant/popular and just the genuine human need for validation.
It hits us all at some point or another.
How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
I don’t have any galleries or exhibitions at this time but you can always follow me on Instagram @cee.anastasia or visit my website www.shotxcee.com!
Contact Info:
- Website: Www.shotxcee.com
- Email: shotxcee@gmail.com
- Instagram: @Cee.anastasia
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