Women behind the lens

Exhibition

In honor of Women’s History Month this March, Blazing Editions and YJ Contemporary celebrate the photographic work and achievements of incredible female photographers. This collection brings together women from all over the country with uniquely different photographic styles and genres. Offering our viewers an exciting exhibition made up of powerful images, both tranquil and exciting as they are beautiful and challenging. They also show a glimpse of the women behind the lens.

We invite you to explore more about the individual female photographers who’ve contributed to this event and enjoy the different ways they each capture the world's beautification around us.

Featuring

Ashley Bilodeau • Kimerlee Curyl • Carol Eisenberg • Debby Krim • Roberta Ruocco • Claire Thomas

 Interactive

Ashley Bilodeau

BiographY

Ashley Paige Bilodeau is a self-taught, natural-light photographer who was born and raised on Cape Cod. She is best known for capturing the natural beauty of the Cape & Islands in her minimalist photography collections. Select images can be found on view in her gallery on Main Street in Chatham, ‘All Points Beautiful.’ Additionally she has established a name for herself in the New England yoga and outdoor industries.  

Ashley has been an artist since before she could walk, always inspired to capture the intrinsic beauty of her coastal hometown. She recalls taking photographs with a disposable camera at the young age of twelve. She later fell in-love with developing film. She built an in-home dark room while living in Vermont in her early twenties. Prior to opening her gallery, she worked in the action sports industry. She remembers excitedly picking up a digital camera at the age of 20 and feeling like everything in her life had aligned, she booked her first job in action sports the following week. Her focus shifted to yoga photography upon completing her first 200hr yoga training in power yoga. In curating the perfect backdrops for her yoga clients, she quickly realized it was the organic landscapes she was most drawn to. Today, taking photos is not only her livelihood, but also her meditation. 

“My work is inspired by how I see the world. Part of my process is finding the right time to shoot. Not only from an aesthetic/lighting stand point, but also just being aware of how I feel while shooting, I need to be in the right headspace. I try to shoot when I don’t have any heavy feelings inside of me. I want to convey the world as I see it, visually, not as I feel it or perceive it. I believe this really translates into my work. The images have no attachment to my emotions. I can let them go and be whole heartedly enjoyed and appreciated by my clients for their beauty alone.”

Ashley Bilodeau

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Kimerlee Curyl

Biography

The Hollywood dream moved Kimerlee west from Minnesota but it was the heart of a horse that changed everything. Having worked on both sides of the camera, she has the natural ability of capturing emotion, delivering imagery that is described as unique, dramatic and evocative. Emphasizing graceful lines, rich textures and a view of the horse not done before. Since 2004 she has been capturing an intimate connection with the wild, leaving the viewer imagining the horse’s very breath on their face.

Being mostly self taught, for many years Kimerlee's work was captured with inexpensive equipment and very limited resources, working many jobs to keep a horse in her life and film in her camera. Her love of the horse and perseverance for what she believes in, a desire to learn, share and educate through art and awareness has been a driving force for over 17 years.

Kimerlee lives in the beautiful valley of Santa Ynez, CA with her two horses, a paint mare named Sequoia and a young newly adopted wild mustang, el Regalo. Kimerlee is represented by one of the country's largest fine art publishers, prestigious galleries, along with national, international and celebrity collectors. Her work has been used in numerous advertising campaigns and product branding.

Most importantly, Kimerlee’s work has become a voice for those who don't have one... our remaining wild horses.

Wild Mustangs. Without them the great West was not possible. We traveled, explored and built this land by holding onto their manes and riding the spirit of their hearts. We can honor that gift by being their voice. These beautiful legends, magnificent symbols of freedom and grace, are being stripped from their homes, families torn apart and an icon will soon be lost forever. It is my hope to not only celebrate the beauty and magnificence of these creatures but to help them. They are a living breathing history museum, a vital element in our heritage to our eco-system and to our humanity. To lose them would be a tragically irresponsible disrespect to our past, present and future. ART...has a voice

Kimerlee Curyl

Collection

Carol Eisenberg

BiographY

Carol Eisenberg has been a practicing photographer since the 1990s. She received her MFA in Media Studies and Photography from Maine Media College, Rockport, ME. She specializes in constructing digital images that blur the line between painting and photography. This duality of aesthetics is an essential component of her approach to art and life. She is drawn to the polarities of beauty and decay, the contrived and the natural, the excessive and the elegant.

All of her compositions begin with originally sourced imagery selected from photographs she shoots in her studio or on location in mid-coast Maine where she lives half the year, or her neighborhood and surroundings in Tel Aviv, Israel, where she resides the other half, as well as on her extensive travels here and abroad.

As an active participant in the feminist movement in the 1970s, the principles of inclusion, equality and justice underlie her work in the breadth of source material and the embrace of beauty in all its forms.

Eisenberg’s work has been featured in Décor Maine, Maine Arts Journal, Portland Press Herald, and Lenscratch, among others. Her work, which is in both public and private collections nationwide, has been the subject of recent exhibitions at the Maine Jewish Museum, Portland, ME / Cove Street Arts, Portland, ME / Carver Hill Gallery, Camden, ME / The Southeast Center for Photography in Greenville, SC / The Griffin Museum of Photography in Winchester, MA / Photo Place Gallery in Middlebury, VT / The Curated Fridge / New York Center for Photographic Art in NYC / Colorado Photographic Arts Center in Denver, CO and the LC Bates Museum in Fairfield, ME.

Collection

Debby Krim

Biography

A native Rhode Islander, Debby has been photographing and oil painting since the 1970’s. Her formal training began with two summers of exploration at RISD. In 1976, she headed to Boston to study at Boston University’s School of Fine Arts. Boston has remained her home ever since. She is an active member of the art community and has her studio in the SoWa Art + Design District that she helped build.

Debby develops her vision through a variety of media, including oil paint, photography, film and metal smithing. Her photographs go beyond simple visual representation. Composition, structure and light are fundamental to her vision, while her ever playfulness and humor have found home in her work.

An award-winning artist, Debby’s awards include the prestigious “Copley Master” distinction in the field of photography. She is the first photographer to hold this distinction. Her popular “Colors of White” photo series has been featured in movies and television shows including “The Proposal” and “Blue Bloods.”

Debby’s creative process combines visual exploration to capture feeling and emotion. “Every day I am presented with something of beauty, intrigue or uniqueness. The camera is my chosen tool that enables me to capture that experience which allow me to further study the moment, or simply enjoy it.

Nearly 20 years ago, I embarked on a quest to capture white flowers. The white flowers that are the centerpiece of “The Colors of White” are deep in texture, pattern and mathematics. They have taught me to open my eyes to looking at nature beyond its straightforward beauty.”

Escaping the pandemic last winter, Debby headed for the warmth of Florida. It was there that she fell in love with the patterning and texture of wings, so similar to the white flowers. Her fascination in the beauty of nature with this new palette has brought about this series: “Wings.”

Collection

Roberta Ruocco

Biography

Roberta Ruocco is a contemporary fine art photographer located in New York City. She specializes in large scale photography for residential, commercial, and commissioned works. 

Her parents immigrated to America from the island of Capri. She is first generation born in Palm Beach, Florida and was fortunate enough to spend her summers in Capri. She grew up capturing the two places closest to her heart through her lens, not ever realizing the relevancy. While in college studying international marketing at Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC, she took a black and white photography class, which inspired her more than anything and ignited her passion. She graduated from FIT, got married, had two beautiful children and shortly thereafter went back to study photography at the School of Visual Arts in NYC where she received a BFA in Photography. It was a challenging journey but such a noteworthy experience filled with growth, love and passion.

Roberta loves competing in juried exhibitions and has exhibited throughout the United States. She had a solo show in Capri, Italy with Il Centro Caprense Ignazio Cerio. Roberta loves working with art consultants, interior designers, and collectors to find the right image from her series or working with a client on a commission.

Her recent exhibits include 30x30 Feature in The Affordable Art Fair in NYC, Miami Art Basel Events of Red Dot Miami, Spectrum Miami and Acqua Art Miami. 

You can find Roberta capturing moments anywhere between New York, Palm Beach, Capri and any beaches in between!

Collection • LINES OF LATITUDE

claire thomas

Biography

Claire Thomas is a photojournalist and fine art photographer from Wales, currently based between the UK and New York City. Growing up in rural village near the town of Carmarthen in South Wales, Claire developed an ardent love for horses from an early age. It was this passion that led her to work as a horse wrangler in Wyoming, USA, where she first began taking photographs. Following her time in Wyoming, Claire traveled to Ghana on a volunteer project supporting women living with HIV/AIDS. A humbling experience, Claire continued to pursue projects in which her photography could be used as a tool to raise awareness of the pressing issues of our times.

A graduate in Politics from the University of the West of England, her photojournalism work is focused on issues surrounding political and military conflicts, human rights, and humanitarian and environmental crises. From within the camps that emerged with the refugee crisis in Europe to the front lines in the battle against ISIS in Iraq, Claire has covered a range of stories in various countries, contributing images and photo essays to leading newspapers, magazines, and news agencies worldwide.

From fine art to editorial, Claire’s approach to photography is rooted in her passion for storytelling, seeking to reflect the realities of life in a compelling, engaging, and artistic way. In pursuit of powerful and honest imagery, her work seeks to convey a concept or emotion that goes beyond the image itself, providing a deeper insight into the stories and a connection with the subjects.

Claire’s work has been shortlisted for a number of awards and has been exhibited in several countries around the world. Notable clients include The New York Times, National Geographic, the BBC, The Sunday Times, Geographical Magazine, The Guardian, among others. She also works regularly with United Nations agencies and international non-governmental organizations worldwide.

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