Christy Muddle
I can’t say there’s one simple path that led to my love of photography. But I can’t deny that my appreciation was ingrained in me as a little girl. Propped on the floor of my Grandparents house with my neck bent to the white sheet hung from the wall, the hum of the projector became background noise behind the stories that came along with each photograph. I actually believed that the whole world used to be black and white.
In my Grandparents albums, every photo seemed a treasure – tucked meticulously into each corner piece and suspended on the black pages of the book. I met my ancestors on those pages. I went on road trips that happened before I was born. And I saw the evolution of a house, a garden, and a family over generations.
Still, it wasn’t until my twenty-first birthday, when my family pooled their money to buy me my first ‘real’ camera, that I received my first true taste of how looking through a lens and taking pictures of my own could transport me. I was in school taking a post-graduate program in Recreational Therapy at the time. I just never imagined photography could be an element of my re-creational therapy. I suppose you don’t miss what you don’t have. It was also during that period of my life that I decided I wanted my life’s work to be for more than just a paycheck. Somehow, I wanted to make a difference, and to be true to myself, my heart had to be in my work. Life is too short to just ‘exist.’ I wanted to do something that made me feel like I was really living.
After graduating, I took my first trip across Canada, camera in tow. Through the Prairies to the Rockies, out to Vancouver Island and then down the coast of the United States to the Redwoods of Northern California, my eyes were wide open. I’m almost finished writing my first novel, inspired by that trip. And it was that trip that had me pulling to the side of the road to capture just the right moment of light on the horizon or seeking out trails just to see what I could see. It’s an art in itself to try to translate just how beautiful our world is.
I’ve traveled parts of Europe and the United States since then. I’ve driven across Canada a couple more times and left a piece of my heart in Newfoundland where my husband and I lived the year after we were married. And from the main highways to the back-roads and the hiking trails along the way, my camera has always come along. It’s the courage to share my art with the world that has taken some time.
Art, as I’ve come to appreciate, is all a matter of perspective. I love the anticipation of the perfect shot, the perfect light. And I love bringing attention to the simple things in life – a fall leaf on the surface of a pond; a simple act of gratitude. Because on my pursuit to do what I love, I’m always reminded that it’s the simple things that make it all worthwhile.
To my family who awakened this passion in me, I’m forever grateful. To Mother Nature herself, I am forever in awe. I hope you enjoy my perspective.
Still, it wasn’t until my twenty-first birthday, when my family pooled their money to buy me my first ‘real’ camera, that I received my first true taste of how looking through a lens and taking pictures of my own could transport me. I was in school taking a post-graduate program in Recreational Therapy at the time. I just never imagined photography could be an element of my re-creational therapy. I suppose you don’t miss what you don’t have. It was also during that period of my life that I decided I wanted my life’s work to be for more than just a paycheck. Somehow, I wanted to make a difference, and to be true to myself, my heart had to be in my work. Life is too short to just ‘exist.’ I wanted to do something that made me feel like I was really living.
After graduating, I took my first trip across Canada, camera in tow. Through the Prairies to the Rockies, out to Vancouver Island and then down the coast of the United States to the Redwoods of Northern California, my eyes were wide open. I’m almost finished writing my first novel, inspired by that trip. And it was that trip that had me pulling to the side of the road to capture just the right moment of light on the horizon or seeking out trails just to see what I could see. It’s an art in itself to try to translate just how beautiful our world is.
I’ve traveled parts of Europe and the United States since then. I’ve driven across Canada a couple more times and left a piece of my heart in Newfoundland where my husband and I lived the year after we were married. And from the main highways to the back-roads and the hiking trails along the way, my camera has always come along. It’s the courage to share my art with the world that has taken some time.
Art, as I’ve come to appreciate, is all a matter of perspective. I love the anticipation of the perfect shot, the perfect light. And I love bringing attention to the simple things in life – a fall leaf on the surface of a pond; a simple act of gratitude. Because on my pursuit to do what I love, I’m always reminded that it’s the simple things that make it all worthwhile.
To my family who awakened this passion in me, I’m forever grateful. To Mother Nature herself, I am forever in awe. I hope you enjoy my perspective.