"The Artist Within" Stephanie Gardner

         Being the artist I am I like to credit myself on finding the beauty in the most surreal of places. I often suffer from insomnia. As I lie in silence, well silence accompanied by the stale dialogue of a humming television I think about places others find beautiful. I then challenge myself to think of an obscure way to present said place to them that enables them to see it in a new light. I find even more joy in finding a place that the majority of people overlook on a regular basis and creating an awesome piece of art around it.

          One of my favorite mediums as far as art is concerned is worship. I feel that the act of worshiping is and can be just as beautiful and graceful as the Bristles of a brush as they spread paint across a canvas, and my shutter as it captures the scene I have created in front of it.  Whether it be the Indians in a rain circle, the tribes of distant countries as they make sacrifices to gods some of us will never know about, the Muslims as they worship Allah 5 times a day facing Mecca, the Hindus as they worship in the Ganges one of the several gods in their polytheistic religion, the monks that worship Buddha with silence, or the sounds of choirs as they sing praises to the Christian God. The God of whom I worship in all aspects of my life.

          I was first introduced to Stephanie's art of worship at a revival in 2011. A band she was singing for at the time had been asked to perform the music one of the nights. Just so happened the only night I was able to attend was the night they were there. The energy from the band was electric, inspiring, and all around awesome. Being a musician myself i found myself noticing the different members of the band, what they were playing, and how it compared to the way i played the songs. As I examined their performance I found myself mesmerized by Stephanie's approach to this performance. she sang as if it was only her on stage, no congregation, no bands, no equipment, just her and God. To see someone get so completely lost in worship inspired me to perfect my talents that I have been blessed with by God.

In late 2012 I began attending ignite church of Greenville on a regular basis. It was after a few weeks that I recognized Stephanie as one of their leading female vocalists and automatically the same inspiration and humility that I remembered so fervently were still there, amplified even more so than I had remembered.

My reason behind choosing her to be a part of "the artist within" series seems a no brainer by now.  The shoot with her was amazing, getting to know her and discuss her passion for worship was a true blessing, not to mention the images we created were stunning in dramatic elements and elegant beauty. My reason for choosing this location is because of my initial mindset when seeing her worship, that of worshiping alone. Worshiping as if the seats are empty, as if the crowd has gone home, the lights still shine and all that is left is all that matters most, the holy presence of God, the God she so passionately worships.  A God of whom sees her imperfections but sought her out, blessed her with the voice to reach millions in His name. Stephanie's dream is to use her talents in ministry for the Kingdom of God. Regardless of your views on Christianity, whether you believe in the God she serves or you choose to believe in other religions the beauty and passion she expresses while serving her King, the King of Kings is something to be respected.

I pride myself on being respectful of all religions. I have immense respect for anyone who has the courage to stand behind a belief that they have researched and believe wholeheartedly even if I disagree with them.

That being said, working with other Christian is always an inspiration and a humbling point. You see, I am a sinner just as we all are. No amount of worship, nor works I do for Gods kingdom will suffice for my sinful nature. It is only by the grace of God and blood of His son Jesus that I am saved and made anew in His eyes.

If you are ever in Greenville on a Sunday morning, I strongly encourage you to visit ignite church. If for no other reason than to see Stephanie as she performs the art she was born to create.

I will save you a seat, heck I'll even walk you in :)

Enjoy,

"The Artist Within" NC Fine Art Photographer Pt.II

         The success and attention that the first photos from "The Artist Within" inspired me to create even more artistic and creative images for the next installment in it. I was contacted by Mary Beth a couple of weeks ago. In talking with her she told me about her various talents, one of which being playing the violin. This struck a chord with me. (haha, see what I did there?) You see, every since I was a young boy I have played guitar and had a passion for music, so the idea of photographing someone whom I share a passion with excited me to no end.
          Our original concept was to create a big city feeling of a street musician. So obviously panhandling came to mind. We decided to shoot at a nearby train station hoping it would give the feel of subways of a bigger city.
          Also, Mary Beth has been accepted to musical conservatories in both New York City and Boston. So naturally she will have to pack up and move away. I didn't learn this information until middle way through our time together it was at this time that I moved the shoot to the actual train cars to make it seem she had hopped the train in hopes of finding stardom in the big city. Listening to Mary Beth play her violin as we shot made the shoot all the more special. She is incredibly talented.
          I hope you enjoy the images from the second installment of "The Artist Within"

  

 

As always, never hesitate to contact me with any questions or comments.

Talk to me:
Phone: (252) 813 -2977
Email: efphotog@gmail.com

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"The Artist Within" NC Fine Art Photographer

            With the end of "Beautiful Simplicity" approaching rapidly, the ideas of my next personal project swirled around inside my head for a few weeks before deciding on "The Artist Within."

           "The Artist Within" is a series of incredibly talented individuals that I have had the pleasure of meeting and working with. The photos in the series are of these people creating art with the medium they are so talented with.

            This project is very dear to me, because I consider myself an artist with a camera as my medium. Just as a painter would with his brush. So with that being said when you get two individuals together who are both incredibly passionate about their and on the same page as far as the end result is concerned, you are bound to create something amazing.

             I chose Cassidy Harris as my first artist for the series for 2 reasons. One being that she is incredibly talented and beautiful, and the second being I had been dying to try this idea with someone and I knew that these would be some of my best photos of my career thus far. So why not let this be a great way to kick start people's excitement over the new series. Also ballerinas are sooooo amazingly talented at manipulating their bodies into pretty much any situation I could throw at them, so without further ado I present to you the first installment of "The Artist Within."

     As always, if you have any questions or comments about this post or any other, and for inquiries on booking a shoot or buying prints, never hesitate to contact me.


Talk to me:
Phone: (252) 813-2977
Email: efphotog@gmail.com


Follow me:
Instagram: @spencer_bunting
Facebook: www.facebook.com/emptyframes