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My name is Adrienne Catanese, and I am a female emerging fine art photographer living and working in Long Island, NY. My current work is mostly conceptual still life created in my “studio” (read: tiny kitchen), but I also love shooting on-location portrait sessions, street photography, etc.

I am primarily a digital photographer; my gear is minimal: one Canon 5D Mark III body, one Canon 24-105 f4 lens (L series, came with the MarkIII), a cheap Amazon tripod, cheap Amazon speedlights, cheap Amazon triggers. I have a Canon T6 Rebel and a nifty-fifty that I carry for back-up when shooting weddings / paid jobs.

I make my own light modifiers like reflectors, snoots, grids, gobos, etc., using Dollar Tree materials, garbage, even things I find on the side of the road. I also hand-build my own props using thrift store materials and eBay items, often gluing, painting, sanding, even burning objects before meticulously arranging them in still life compositions.

My “creative vision” when making photos is usually very *obsessive* but in a good way. When working on a series, I can barely sleep as ideas, and even fully-formed images will appear in my mind as I lay in bed. In the middle of the night, I wake up to write notes and diagram shots in a notebook I keep next to the bed.

I got into photography because I was inspired by a photographer friend; she did self-portrait based “365 Projects” for several years running. I then started my own “365 Project” (also self-portraits), and that was how I began teaching myself photography. First, I was shooting daily on my iPhone 5c. After a couple months of daily shooting, I bought a used Canon T3 Rebel from my photographer friend for $150. On that simple, beat-up camera, I taught myself all the basics of manual exposure using library books and online resources. I firmly believe that consistent daily practice with a “beater” camera and studying photo-books (both instructional and monographs) formed my skill set foundation.

One of my biggest influences, especially for my more conceptual / studio (especially self-portrait) work, is Cindy Sherman. Her technical mastery and attention to detail inspire me; also, her embrace of “the grotesque,” her willingness to revel in ugliness, to critique the feminine identity, and to explore the darker places of the human mind...she’s nothing short of heroic. I also adore Mary Ellen Mark. I’m in awe of her eye and her compassion. Her images seem to elevate the mundane and the disenfranchised to an almost holy place; I view her as one of the greatest photographers of all time. When I’m shooting street or documentary, I often am inspired by her work on a subconscious level–but even if I were to shoot for a thousand years, I would never approach her level of mastery.

I’ve been shooting since 2015, so five years total. I’m 36 now, so I found photography pretty “late” in life compared to some. Back in the late 90s, I took darkroom film photography in high school, but I (stupidly) was more concerned with cutting class to smoke pot with my friends, so I don’t count those years