Featured Artist 04: Rachel Black

Rachel Black

Steel + Flint Featured Artist 04

Rachel Black – our first featured artist of 2020 – is many things: adventurer, lover of the outdoors, wife and boy mom, Art Therapist, Photographer, and owner of Rowanberry + Lavender in Fairfield County, CT. Inspired by beautiful light and authentic emotion, Rachel finds a way to capture the intimate, extraordinary moments in even the most ordinary of situations.

Her portfolio shows just how much she embraces everything colorful and vibrant in any situation, each image displaying her creativity, imagination, and talent. It’s clear to us just how much she has invested into herself and her craft.

We asked Rachel to share a little bit of insight into who inspires her, advice she has to give, and - of course - the equipment she carries when creating her magic. Enjoy!

What is one image that represents your overall work/style as an artist?

I hear people say to me when we meet "oh, that shot you did on the Brooklyn Bridge, that photo was so awesome." Honestly, It's a shot that happened out of a bit of luck. It was the first time I had ever been on the bridge and I assumed that Sunrise would allow us to get no one in the shot. However, I didn't consider the time change at this time of year so we literally showed up an hour before sunrise. If there is one way to describe myself it's "works well under immense pressure." My background as a trauma specific art therapist has really taught me a lot about what to do when things don't go exactly as planned. So this picture happened after we had already been shooting in the dark for about 20-30 minutes. I saw the leading lines in the bridge and was so mesmerized by them. It even feels to me like the white separation line could take you all the way to the top. I'm not From NY, I hail all the way from Nashville, but I have an appreciation for architecture and design. Not only that but so many painters and artists draw inspiration from this bridge (i.e. Warhol, Georgia O’Keeffe, as have photographers like Walker Evans or documentarian Ken Burns). When I walk on it I can only imagine the hard work and lives lost building this monstrosity. It's the most beautiful thing to walk across so it was only necessary that I wanted Kristen and Mike to look out on either side, taking in the
full city where they live.

What’s one piece of advice you’d give someone working to get where you are?

Oh Man, tough question. Personally, I'm not exactly where I want to be because I am still growing. I'm so happy to be doing destination work,
but I still feel like I have so much to learn. I got here by working hard and I'm so proud to say that. I worked for an entertainment company
for years doing the underpaid and uncreative grunt work behind the scenes while putting myself through graduate school. Then I worked for a
few other photographers and later charged very little money for weddings and family work whilst learning and working long hours. I literally used to hand edit every wedding image in Photoshop. Say what?! I love to work but I definitely didn't start taking creative risks until long after. It's important to invest in yourself. That sounds so obvious and I think we are doing a better job in our society, but I don't think people
understand how necessary it is. I see it from 2 sides - 1. as a therapist watching the surge of mental health disorders drastically rise
and 2. as a photographer wanting to travel yet spend more time with my family. I wish people could understand the value of patience and
learning to say "no" more frequently. Boundaries, boundaries, and more boundaries. I should seriously get it tattooed. We live in a world of
instant gratification and clients do not always value our time. It's okay to reply to the email tomorrow and it's okay to not post on
Instagram everyday. There will always be another job but time for you and family is the best gift you can give yourself.

Who was your biggest influence when you were starting out?

For Photographers it really began locally, Carla Ten Eyck. She has been a huge inspiration and I felt that her unique ability to always change
up the scene or posing was so daring and incredibly admirable. We still haven't met but unabashedly I'll admit we have a little instagram fandom romance going on. She so great with inclusivity and education so it's pretty awesome when she reaches out to comment on my work, I love watching her family grow with how she is raising her children, and representing the LGBTQ+ community. She's just an all around badass.
Corey Lyn Tucker has also been a huge support and influence. We met on a styled shoot several years ago and she is the epitome of what it is to be a visionary, friend, confidant, and embodies the principles of community over competition. For others I definitely draw inspiration from Music and Art. As an Art Therapist there's artists like Flora Bowley who teaches more about process and less about product. Obviously we have to deliver the goods, but we have to remember to take a step back and view it objectively and document as a journalist. lastly, My husband and son, they don't always travel with me, my husband John never bats an eye and knows how much I love to travel. When I say I'm leaving for a long destination wedding or workshop he's just says, "how cool for you and what a dream." Rowan has also become a huge inspiration for me as a role model. He's so sincere all the time and when I'm stressed he'll do little things around the house to make me feel better like draw a picture or pull out an album to go through. They also know how much I love fall and I miss a lot of it because it's the busiest time fore me with weddings but they'll suppose me after I come home after traveling with the house decorated and a fire burning. Sometimes I think I'm dreaming. All the stress and hardwork getting here has been completely worth it and they remind me of that all the time.

How have you worked to set yourself apart from other photographers?

Well, I hope I don't offend anyone when I say this, but I still use a lot of color, haha. I feel like those of us left who still use greens and yellows are a dying breed. I love what I see in the new age of Photography. Some days I think, "what the heck am I doing? I want to edit or shoot like India Earl," I love it so much but that's not me I feel like I can't bring myself to desaturate 90% of the colors. In art school Oil painting was my safe place. I would sit for hours mixing colors thinking about Rembrandt while blending the paints just to achieve the all the right hues. I was always the last in class to leave and the lights were often turned out on me...this was of course before I became a mom! I rarely have time to paint anymore, but I think my love for oils comes through in my images. People comment that my work is cinematic and vibrant. I love that, I want people to feel colors when they see my images they way oils feel on a canvas. I also think time sets me apart from other photographers. I am old school and still edit in Camera Raw. OMG, the gasps I'm already hearing from people. Yes, I know I am very stubborn. I batch edit of course, but I take a lot of time with each image so my turnover for weddings is longer than most and I tell my clients that it's my way of applying paint to the canvas and having to take time to varnish and let it dry. Because I often go back through and make 100% sure I believe my clients will love what they see and why they chose to invest in me. Other than that I do shoot a lot of the same venues or locations for engagements and family work and I rarely, if ever use the same exact location or pose unless it's requested because I want people to always feel like their getting something unique than what they've seen on my IG. I look at a location or structure and see how I can change it from a very obscure perspective.

What’s in your bag?

Nikon d3s (super old model but it's my favorite and I think I probably
own the last 3 models on the earth.)
Nikon D850
Sony AR7ii
Sigma 85mm 1.4
Sigma Art 35mm 1.4
Sigma 70-200mm 2.8
Nikon 24-70mm 2.8
3 Godox AD200
Nikon SB910
Magmods