art is a tryst, for in the joy of it maker & beholder meet .

Allow me to introduce a friend of mine. Her name is Lindsey Gerstlauer and she is a visual artist, one of the most refreshing and raw and talented and light-envoking visual artists I have seen. Her photography speaks for itself, but even further by knowing Lindsey I found her photographs even more exceptionally breathtaking because they embody her - warm, kind, and full of a unique, spellbinding light. I asked Lindsey to send me two of her favorite photos and asked her to give me a little piece about how she got into visual artistry...The two photographs below are, "two of my favorite self-portraits. The reason why that is -- I felt instantly connected to them. Dreamygirl is from a memory of when I was a little girl and the b&w image is me at a very natural state, hardly any make-up on, just still and at peace with myself. I love to take photos of anything interesting or beautiful but I take a lot of self-portraits for a few reasons -- It makes me a better photographer. If I take a well-composed photo of myself than I believe I can take a wonderful portrait of someone else too. Self-portraiture also helps with my personal self-esteem and gives me the confidence I need. I feel a strong emotional bond when photographing myself -- for example, I could be having a terrible day and all I would have to do is pick up my camera and transfer all that negative energy into my work and something positive comes out of it instead. I’ve had body issues where I didn’t feel comfortable in my own skin for a while and now, I embrace my femininity and have allowed myself to open up and not be so afraid. I am self-taught but learn so much every day from other artists. I am constantly inspired by other photographers, music, films, quotes, etc. Some of my favorite inspirations are Tim Walker, Rosie Hardy, Akiane Kramarik, Yulia Gorodinski, Sabrina Dacos, Max Wanger, and Dane Shitagi." You can follow Lindsey's blog & witness the magic for yourself here: http://lindseyj0715.wordpress.com/