Practicing Stillness

So, its been a while since I posted on here. Sorry about that, fellow followers. I had some very personal things come up in my life and they needed my careful attention. I won’t bore you with the details, but it involved a freak accident and some recovery time. I am feeling a lot better and am beginning to feel like myself again. I haven’t even posted to my Instagram account, and I usually post there the most. The last couple of months have been extremely difficult, but extremely necessary. In the quiet moments of my recovery, I learned a lot about the person I am and the person I want to be. I faced certain things about myself that I don’t really care for, I hope to do away with those traits the best I can. I saw a lot there thats worth keeping, and things I want to achieve for my future. I am fortunate to be surrounded by some of the best people I have ever known, they were my strength, when I was beaten. They were my courage, when I was defeated. They got me through it. The most important things I learned in all of this are, there is no greater virtue than gratitude and fear is still as destructive as they tell you it is.

Remember your roots and be ever flowing like water.

This period of reflection has caused some creative blockages that I am trying to sort through. But being still sometimes is what needs to be done in order to move past the things that come up for us in our lives. I struggle with stillness, so this has been challenging. Thats when I turn to the landscape. Take pause and be present with something bigger than myself. My goal from here on out is to spend more time with my work, post images from my archive, sharing work that is synonymous with growth, patience, gratitude and strength. In the presence of the landscape, I attempt to convey how we can be like water, or be like trees. Bending and swaying, maintaining a fluidity thats constant, while still remaining steadfast and strong. The human condition is an omnipresent thread with what I hope to say with my self-portraiture work. Through my landscapes, I still attempt to transfer the natural state of the landscape as a reflection of how we, as people, are the same as nature.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New Zealand Wedding, 2017

Happy New Year to all!

I am finally getting settled in. What a whirlwind of a year I have had, I have not been doing the best job at keeping up with my marketing. One of my goals for 2018 is to stay on top of my social media presence, be more active and more diligent about staying current with marketing my work. I also will be creating a newsletter for my business, and begin email marketing. I’d love to grab your emails, feel free to reach out! I also plan on renovating my website as well, so stay tuned for updates!

Last August I had the absolute pleasure of flying to New Zealand, to photograph Bekah and Frankie’s wedding. It was a dream, to be in such a magical place, celebrating two people and their amazing love. I had never crossed an ocean, until this trip and was it worth it, New Zealand is stunning! Aside from the sheer beauty of being on that tiny island seventeen hours ahead of Chicago, drinking some of the best wine I’ve ever had, I was was also celebrating two people. Bekah and Frankie’s relationship is inspiring on multiple levels, they show the rest of us what real, true and authentic love looks like. Love without restraint, love thats unconditional. I have known Bekah for years, as her friend was proud and honored to be part of their special day. As her photographer, I was excited to share with the rest of the world what I have known for years.

Dissociative Dance

 

Maybe she’s born with it, maybe its ketamine.

 

 

Cleansing Ritual

everyday

i wake up

try and wash you off of me

i let the water run down my skin

that feels wrong

seep into every pore

scalding hot

in hopes of extracting you

Sacrificial Rite

During the summer of 2013, my brother was visiting from Los Angeles. We went hiking at Starved Rock, one afternoon in August. Towards the end of our hike, we stumbled upon this dissected raccoon. At first, it appeared to be a product of the circle of life. Then the idea of sacrifice came up for me. Something about the posture, the raccoon was suddenly on display. A totem for sacrificial rite. Then, the metaphor of sacrifice came up, now the raccoon suddenly symbolized an everyday aspect of the human condition. It is all encompassing, a trifecta of give and take.

I have been spending a lot of time going through the archives lately. The aspect of discovery is exceptional.

 

 

Film Noir State of Mind

I have begun going through my archive of work, sometimes as photographers you need to sit on your work, and only when the iron strikes, you share it. Its intuitive. I took this shot in my bothers basement in LA, a few years ago. My work is highly narrative and emotive. I tend to look at all my fine art work as portraits on the self. I am driven by personal experience and the human condition, the vast forms of expressing ones true self and spirit are endless. There is real beauty in the gift of the phoenix. Yes, she burns, but she also continues to rise, again and again.

We tend to have many lives, within this one lifetime. I like to think of it as the abrupt cuts that are so popular in Film Noir. The shifts our lives take, some shifts happen overnight, and we are left to move with the pace of life or get swallowed by it.

This is my film noir state of mind.

 

 

Latest Boudoir Session with Annie!

I am finally getting caught up, what a whirlwind of a year I’ve had. I have been slightly off my game, but I spent time traveling both domestically and internationally. I truly have had some life changing experiences that I can’t wait to share with you all. I have a new art project I can’t wait to get off the ground! I’ve been to New Zealand and spent time up in the mountains and now I’m finally home with a shifted perspective. This year taught me a lot and I am grateful.

Here is my latest boudoir session with Annie! I am now booking holiday gift sessions, both individual and couples sessions available.

Message me at courtney@courtneypenzato.com to discuss pricing options and ideas!

 

 

 

Botanica Obscura

I recently began collaborating with an artist friend of mine. He challenged me to see my work in a new light, almost quite literally. Here is a process shot of what the installation is gonna look like. Animated 2D static images, projected onto a series of scrims to create a “scrim box” or volumetric 3D projection of the animated botanical images.

Botanica Obscura will make its debut at the BWB Luau Fundraiser this Saturday, July 22nd from 2-10 pm. What began as an idea for the luau itself, quickly manifested into an installation I intend to show in more than one venue. If you are interested in showing Botanica Obscura, please get in touch with Gordon Krummel @gsk443 or myself @thelensbaby23

 

 

Now booking boudoir sessions!!

Greetings fellow followers, it has been a moment since my last post. I have been working diligently to get this new prospect off the ground. My website has not been updated yet, but I wanted to share the news here with you first!

I am now booking boudoir sessions!!!

I will be traveling out of the country for the first three weeks of August, but am booking boudoir sessions for when I get back. You can reach me through my website Courtney Penzato Photography, at courtney@courtneypenzato.com, Facebook and Instagram @thelensbaby23.

Here are some samples of my most recent shoot with the lovely bombshell, Harpy Anna. Follow her Instagram @e.money.art. 

Bathroom Window

Windows have always been a recurring theme in my work. There is something about them that draws me in. I see them as tiny portraits with a soft anonymity. Outside the frame, I usually know nothing about the people who spend their time on the other side of the glass. The audience is left only to make their own judgements, form connections or experience nostalgia in whatever way behooves them.

The image below is of my own bathroom window, taken from inside the home looking out. This is a new perspective for me, most of the time I am on the outside looking in. The irony is, I equate my images of windows as anonymous portraits as I stated above.  Here it becomes a self-portrait. I see myself as the vine, and this is what the movement of my life looks like.