For the latest installment in our Instagram Takeover series we caught up with Christin Healey, AKA @christinhealey. A self-taught landscape photographer, Christin grew up in the Florida Keys and now lives at the base of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Charlottesville, Virginia with her husband and two dogs.
She says that the focus of her photography is to capture the true essence of earth’s awe-inspiring beauty, from its backyard wonders to its wild, remote outposts. She works to incorporate elements of light, shadows, and natural contours into each landscape. Some of her favorite places to shoot include Iceland, Patagonia, and, the Pacific Northwest.
Check out some of Christin’s amazing as well as our exclusive Q & A with Christin below!
Summer kayaking at Beaver Creek, VA
Ravens Roost in the fall, Blue Ridge Parkway
Winter hikes at Shenandoah National Park
Summer storms and sunflowers at a Keswick, VA farm.
We don’t mind when ponies block the trail at Grayson Highlands, VA 🙂
Fjaðrárgljúfur Canyon, Iceland (This is where I ran into the car trouble—see Q & A below)
Mt. Assiniboine, Wilderness of the Canadian Rockies.
BRO: How did you get into photography?
CH: I got into photography as a sophomore in high-school, taking a great class with an inspiring teacher. I shot on a basic film camera that had been my grandfathers and actually developed all my own images in a dark room — imagine that 🙂
BRO: How long have you been shooting?
CH: About ten years casually, and in the past four years I have been getting more serious about it. Currently photography is an all out obsession for me and I’m shooting whenever I can.
BRO: You have photographed all over the world. What is your favorite place outside the Blue Ridge?
CH: Outside the Blue Ridge, it’s a toss up between Iceland and the Canadian Rockies. I’ll go with Iceland because I have shot there more frequently and it’s a more intimate location for me, and the light and landscape is unreal. The weather is absolutely crazy, but there is something about it that just makes you feel alive.
BRO: What brought you there for the very first time?
CH: I first went to Iceland three years ago. I don’t remember how I got the idea in my head, but I’m sure it all started with seeing a great image somewhere out there on the internet.
BRO: Aside from your camera, what is the most important piece of photography equipment you own?
CH: Tripod! It’s the only way to really capture that perfect light at sunrise and sunset. Remote shutter release to reduce shake and for self-portraits when I’m solo traveling is a close second 🙂
BRO: What the craziest thing that’s ever happened to you on a shoot?
CH: Oh jeez, so many crazy things. One of the scariest was driving back from a shoot in Iceland in the winter and coming down a sketchy road covered in ice (I definitely should *not* have been on that road!). The car started to slide off the road straight into a sheer drop off down a ravine. I pulled the emergency brake just in time and somehow over the course of a few hours coaxed the car back on the road — I will never forget staring down into that drop-off. Seeing an enormous grizzly on the trail in Glacier during springtime when I was doing a week of solo travel is right up there too.
BRO: What kind of photography do you specialize in?
CH: Landscape and adventure photography. Anything that helps people appreciate the incredible beauty and fragility of the world we live in, and also inspires them to get outside and experience it. If I can do that through my work, I consider it a success.
BRO: When you’re not shooting photos, whats your favorite outdoor activity?
CH: Anything that gets me outside is awesome, but there is something about the simplicity of hiking that I really love. You don’t need any equipment, and really anyone can do it in so many different places. Many of the best moments of my life have been on a dirt trail just wandering out in the world. I also got a collapsable kayak this year and have taken it with me everywhere. There is something pretty magical about paddling on gorgeous bodies of water around the world.
