Student Union

© 2001, Michael Cerzio, All Rights Reserved

Buena Vista University
Storm Lake, Iowa

Photos © 2001, Christine Dirkschneider, All Rights Reserved

Expressions
Currently
Christine is in her senior year at the University, working toward a degree in communication and graphic design.

Education
"The school doesn't have a photography major. Most of the students take photo courses to learn some basics, but because of my goals, I did a lot of extra work, and the professors put me on a different level. I didn't know anything technically about photography when I got here, but I knew I loved it and wanted to learn how to express myself with it. The school gave me the tools to do that."

Extras
"In my sophomore year I was director of photography for the school newspaper. I served an internship with photographer Michael Cerizo, and now I'm doing an internship with an advertising agency, working on video production."

Goal
"To have my own fine art portrait studio."

Influences
"Michael Cerizo, the photographer I interned with. His specialty is black and white, and I learned a lot from watching him work. And Duane Michals-I like his sequence images and the way he often writes on the prints about what the subjects were thinking or feeling. I also like how he uses long exposure times to get movement and ghost images in the frame."

Portraits
"I thought I'd be hesitant approaching people I don't know to take their portraits, but it turned out I'm very comfortable, and it seems people are comfortable around me when I take their pictures. Some of the people here I didn't know at all when I took the pictures."

Light Factor
"I like to experiment with how various light sources affect the emotion of a portrait and how light helps shape the image of the human body on film."

Christine Dirkschneider was recommended to us by Dr. Bruce Ellingson, associate professor of Mass Communication at Buena Vista University.

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