Cristo started his photographic career in 1994 while attending Kendall College of Art & Design. As an artist, Cristo was interested in a medium that would allow him to flawlessly reproduce the images and ideas that he envisioned. After taking several classes in painting and drawing, photography became, for him, that medium. In the fall of 1995, one of Cristo's images, Vampire, was selected for display in the Grand Rapids Museum of Art. Wanting to learn more about photography, Cristo focused on hand-developing and printing black and white film. While attending classes and shadowing professional photographers, Cristo worked on creating the collection of experimental images now titled "Black & White". These images were created using infrared as well as traditional black and white films. They also included in-camera multiple exposures, printing through various media, and sandwiching negatives. It was this portfolio (along with a handful of other images) that landed Cristo the position of staff photographer at Lansing Community College (LCC). While at LCC, Cristo augmented his knowledge of black and white and color photography with several classes through LCC's nationally recognized program. For LCC, Cristo routinely photographed persons, special events, and stock for internal and external publication. Assignments ranged from photographing dance and community fundraisers to illustrating nursing and building trades. Cristo has since taken several studio and environmental portraiture classes and has also explored the realm of digital photography. Cristo, despite the growing interest and ease in working with digital photography, chooses to work in film for its uncompromising clarity and color reproduction. Cristo specializes in creating memorable portraiture, wedding packages, and is currently exploring the world of fashion and beauty photography. Cristo works under the name of Imagist, which is borrowed from the writers who were born out of the French Symbolist movement. The Imagists were a group of writers who sought solely to employ the right word in their poetry, not the flowery word or the decorative word. The Imagists wrote succinct verse of clarity and hard outline in which an exact visual image made a total poetic statement. Cristo's photographic work exhibits rich aesthetics and stunning visual elements, in which clarity and hard outline combine to create a total poetic statement. You may contact Cristo via e-mail at [email protected] for a consultation or to schedule an appointment.

Tags

See All Tags (4)