As it often is in the online photography world, I am not really sure when I first ‘met’ Chris. What I do know, is that his work instantly pulled me in and wanting more. I probably stalked his facebook feed for a little bit and then when he and a mutual contact were preparing for a week long photography field trip that would bring them close to my city, we started discussing a meet up. That unfortunately, didn’t happen. But what did happen was a new friendship. Chris has a beautiful way of capturing simple and meaningful details. He has uses the darkness to find the light, both metaphorically and photographically. Sometimes he does this with humor, sometimes beauty, and often with both.  Over the past six months or so I have found incredible inspiration as well as a comrade in Chris.  I will let his work speak for itself here, but if  you don’t already follow along with his work, you should.  You can find more of Chris on his website and on Facebook . Or follow along with him on Instagram and Twitter, @chrishendersonphoto

What cameras do you shoot with?  Do you have a favorite?

I primarily use a Canon 5D Mark II and Mark III, as well as my iPhone 5. As for my favorite, I tend not to play favorites with them. Sometimes, I will get into a groove with the Mark III, but then fall back in love with the Mark II and primarily shoot with it. I carry my iPhone everywhere I go and shoot so much with it. I’m like a kid in a candy shop when I spot a little pocket of light that just needs to be photographed, but I don’t want to carry a big camera all of the time. The iPhone really helps me have that opportunity to visualize an image and make it happen.

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risky business

What do you love most about photography?

What I love about photography is why I got into it in the first place…therapy, an escape. My brother died a few years ago, it took six months for it to hit me. I went into this dark, dark place. I picked up this little digital point-and-shoot that I had bought my wife the Christmas before and I found myself carrying it everywhere I went. Eventually, this form of therapy became an opportunity for me to create something, whether it be for myself, or making an image at a wedding, or of a family. What I love about photography is not only what I get out of it-a form of comfort and expression-but what others get out of it too. Some photographers go out of their way to create beauty in a from that feels artificial. Why fake it when there is so much beauty in this world? I do know that it has become one of the few things that I know. When people ask me what I want to do with my life, I don’t know much, but photography is right up there.

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another way

What and Who inspires you?

Everything inspires me. It used to be finding beautiful things and making a photograph of it. Now, I find beauty in everything around me. I’ll drive by broken down homes, or some sort of graffiti everyday, but then it’ll strike me that it would make for a great image. I’m always chasing light, especially in dark places. I am obsessed with trying to capture sunsets and quiet moments that people otherwise wouldn’t notice. There are a ton of photographers that inspire me daily, most of them ‘big names’, if you will. But one of my friends really inspired me to push myself further. We started at the same time. Our styles were pretty different. But I found her stuff to be astoundingly good and it make me really push myself to be as good, if not better. I’m not a competitive person, typically. But I found myself pushed in a way that other photographers hadn’t pushed me. But also? Any photographer that drops me a line that encourages me is right up there on my inspiration list. I can’t explain how much it means to me and continues to drive me.

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what once was

What was your happiest/worst photographic moment and why? 

I can’t think of a best moment that stands out above all. But I know that every time that someone reacts positively to their images, I feel as if life couldn’t get better. In the past year, I started shooting some boudoir sessions. I’ll never forget when this one woman messaged me and said that she has never felt more beautiful, empowered and alive. That, to me, just makes it all worth it. I did another portrait session where I kept challenging them to step out of their comfort zone a little and in the end, felt that I captured them in a way that they wished others could see them. My worst moment came when I posted images from a maternity session. The images were well received, especially by the couple in the images. In fact, they said that they wished I had shot their wedding. So, I was on this artist high for a few moments when I got a message from a FB friend beginning with the line “Since nobody else will tell you, your photos in this session suck.” It’s hard to take negative feedback in general. But as a creative, I think we’re overall more sensitive to the feedback we receive. I told some photographer buds of mine and they helped me laugh it off in the end. But it stung pretty bad for awhile.

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postal

Final thoughts?

Lately, my desire to pick up the camera has taken a hit. Sometimes, the real world gives extra gravity to everything you see and feel. Picking up the camera has become harder and harder to do. But doing this has taken the weight off of my camera a little bit.

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A huge thank you to Chris for taking time to share 24hours of his world with us.

Keep chasing that light,

Vanessa