Christie Hazen: Artist's Statement

"Have you two been playing with my camera?" A question that drew only blank stares. Neither of us answered.

I was three and playing at my cousin's house. My aunt had stepped outside. When she came back in, she noticed that her camera had been moved. It wasn't until the photos came back from the lab was the truth revealed. There she was, in black and white. My cousin. Standing in front of the blank wall, slight smile on her little face, the index finger of her right hand pointed directly at her curiosity-driven three year old cousin. My first photograph.

I have seen a lot of life since that day: communed in an old mortuary in Vancouver BC as a young teen; traveled up and down the west coast, thumb extended; settled down with the love of my life on a floating home in the great Northwest. And if I've learned nothing else, I've realized that the world, if not taken advantage of, can be too safe. Too neat. Too nice. So, when life grows stagnant, it's time to get up and stretch. Time to immerse one's self in something new. Words that inspire the way I live, the way I conduct my photography.

Since that mind-opening day of curiosity at Aunt Hazel's, I've experienced the world through a set of eyes too many have not been privileged to wear. I've been blessed with the talent to capture forever life's unique moments. I love what I do.