About Brenda
Brenda Castonguay is an award winning photographer with over twenty years of professional photography experience.
With an extensive background in photojournalism and fine art, Brenda Castonguay specializes in black and white landscapes and photo journalistic infant portraiture.
Brenda’s passion for photojournalism caught fire in the early 90s while she was enrolled at Montreal’s Dawson Institute of Photography for commercial photography studies. At the time, Brenda was working a day job in a mini-lab, processing film. It was during that time that the infamous Oka Crisis was at its peak that Brenda got to know a group of elite photojournalists from around the world and under their encouragement, Brenda chose to pursue her education in photojournalism. Soon after, Brenda was accepted with advanced standing to Belleville Ontario’s Loyalist College of Applied Arts and Sciences, and earned the Southam Publishing Scholarship for academic achievement in the first semester of studies.
Brenda’s career and love for travel ultimately took her across the country where she finally settled in Calgary, Alberta and decided to become self employed with options of freelance work in photojournalism. Brenda leveraged a small business loan offered through MCC’s Start Up Program, now known as Momentum, and set up a portrait studio in the trendy community of Inglewood.
For over thirteen years, Brenda’s studio was a staple in the Inglewood community where she catered to a diverse high end clientele, twice earning Calgary’s Child Magazines acclaimed Peoples Choice Award.
In recent years, Brenda has focused much of her practice on combining her past experience in art with her passion of photography by printing her images on high gloss metal, then hand painting the textures and details with acrylic textured gel mediums, resulting in a highly detailed tactile experience of her stunning landscapes and macro florals. Art you encouraged to touch!
ARTIST STATEMENT
A visceral connection to all things natural has moulded my creative instincts to the way I see. I am fascinated by the wealth of detail nature has provided for the human eye.
My uncle still tells this story about me as a young child: As a baby, I was often placed in the sink to be bathed. On more than one occasion, my uncle noted my unusual fascination with the water running from the tap as I was washed, how I could sit for long periods of time exploring the look and feel of the water as it flowed all over my little fingers. He was amazed by my hunger for tactile experience. I had to touch everything, ever so delicately, to truly “see” it.
After a many years as a professional photojournalist and self- employed portraitist, as an artist I am still focusing on the details.
My canvas is tin. The photograph is the captured inspiration and the painting is the emotional connection that brings the concept together as one unit of exploration to be enjoyed with the slightest of touch. I invite you to enjoy the third dimension in my work as a child would…TOUCH IT! And feel free to bathe yourself in the details.
Featured collections during Exposure Festival’s Tenth Anniversary Feb 9th to the 28th at Image Seekers Urban Concept Gallery:
“The Frost Collection”, “Macro Florals” and an added bonus of “The Historic Limber Pines of the Crowsnest Pass”.
