ESPERANZA pt. I

The story of Esperanza is one of the most intense in all of the Neverland series. She is known for so many things and she is truly one of my all time favorite characters. I cannot wait until i can create part II and be able to tell you all the crazy story of Esperanza, i cannot wait to show you her IMMENSE beauty but i cannot do that yet! I am so in love with this character and she has literally changed a part of me. She wasn't planned out, which is my all time favorite thing to do, and i fall in love with her everyday. I fall in love with who she is as she comes more and more together in my mind. The group of people we had working on Esperanza was amazing! I had Kelly my Makeup artist as per usual, and today we worked with Megan Rice the beautiful model who portrayed Esperanza. I know we are all biting at the bit to let you know about Esperanza, but we don't know everything about her yet either. This adventure is amazing and i cannot wait to finish it all up! I think you will all LOVE the final piece!!! Enjoy the photo's below and i will see you all soon!

Hugs and kisses,

Christa 

  

The Sun Persists in Rising

To say the last few weeks have been hard would be a grave understatement. I have driven back and forth from Columbus to Cincinnati, Ohio at least six or seven times within the last three weeks. This driving has caused me to put my life, my job, and my plans on hold and has caused me to undergo a very depressing demeanor for the last month or so. Now, i don't want to go into what exactly happened for privacy reasons; but a great person in my life, someone who has loved and cared for me since i was born, suddenly became very ill . She was placed into the hospital for 3 weeks and was released last thursday. From last thursday my mother, father, and I have been running back and forth in order to help her. This has caused a great weight upon my mother, who happens to be my best friend. "Milky Twilight" was a way for me to express the stress and sadness that's been happening between my family members and I. We have always been a people that stand together, but a part of me is a little disappointed in them today. I don't believe that two or three people, particularly two that don't even live in the same city, should be in charge of taking care of their entire family alone. 

This entire issue became a huge dilemma for me, i didn't believe everybody was a part of the same family and therefore, i didn't consider things they said to be important anymore. Why should i pay any attention to them? Why should i try to help those who in turn will not try to help her? Why should i care at all, about anything they think, say or feel... i truly wasn't concerned. It was a rather dark place for me, someone who often tries to remain within the light and love of those i know and have trusted.. nevertheless, i felt myself loosing respect for the people i had always looked up too. 

Thats when i was playing on facebook during a 10 minute downtime and saw the new Hunger Games poster. "The Sun persists in rising, so i make myself stand." When i saw that, being an avid Hunger Games fan, i was immediately inspired. The Sun too must have gone through a few ups and downs, but everyday it rises. Everyday we are warmed and kept alive by the Sun and who am i to not stand because of a hardship? We must always try to stand, even if it's hard because that's what we do to grow. It's the only way we can be proud of ourselves in the end, even if those who are supposed to be standing aren't. I know that what i've done is right, because i've been here helping all along. I can't say the same for many people, and that's alright because I can say it for myself. Try to always stand, because that's what we are meant to do. All the hardships to be seen but never to change you. You are here because you are meant to be, and you must always try to be the best you can. People will remember you for being the best you can, but they will definitely remember those who are not always being the best they can. They will be remembered, forever, as a person who didn't come to the aid of someone they supposably loved. That isn't how i want to be remembered, ever. 

Isolde

Isolde was more spur of the moment and i'm not sure where she fits into Neverland exactly but she changed it, that's for sure. She's caused me to question the title "Neverland" in itself and that's because i wasn't planning Isolde to be involved. She was simply a passerby, somebody who came into my mind and was quickly meant to leave it. I never dreamed of her, thought of her or loved her.. I guess that's why she's changed everything. In the end that's how it's meant to be, the ones we think of least about are the ones who make the biggest changes. Isolde doesn't have a story and thats the beautiful thing about her.. she doesn't need one. She is a character all in her own, she's the mystery behind Neverland. 

(Les Belle Isolde - Neverland series)

(Isolde - Neverland series)

(Isolde - Neverland series)

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Hugs and Kisses,
_Christa

Hello there!

I want to welcome all of you to the second "Motivational Monday's" post and i specifically want to talk about something many people celebrated this weekend EASTER. Easter is a day of the year that little kids get baskets from the Easter Bunny filled with candy and treats. They get to wake up early and search for their baskets which were hidden by the Easter Bunny, and then the entire family comes together for an amazing celebration. Easter is something i thoroughly enjoy, but i honestly believe that sometime's people forget why we have easter! Easter was not created for us to have baskets filled with candy, eat delicious foods all day, or watch basketball.. Easter was the day a great man rose. It's the day he took something people always considered IMPOSSIBLE and made it POSSIBLE. THAT is what i want to talk about today! Weather your religious beliefs are the same or not isn't the purpose of this blog, i love all of you regardless of that, but i do want to talk about that important aspect in terms of your Life's Creative Path. How amazing would it be if you knew you could turn something others have always considered an impossibility and turned it into a possibility. What if you turned that into a FACT. What if you knew that you could NOT FAIL! What would you try to do?? The amount of artists i look up too are immense and endless, there are many things they have in common but one thing i have noticed the most about them is that they know they will not fail. That's something i want all of you to hold onto, the knowledge that you can be and do anything you want too. The ability to believe you are beautiful, amazing, intelligent and capable! 

This world is full of doubt but it is also full of wonder and that wonder can pierce every doubt you have if you know you will not fail. Remember that today, tomorrow and a year from now see where you will be! I had decided earlier in this year to take photography as seriously as i can and see every inch of beauty and creativity in everything around me. That's a very hard thing to when your in a bad mood, when your surrounded by initially uninspiring things but you will see in time that everything has beauty in it. Everything has the potential to change lives, to create IMMENSE impacts if you only allow them too if you believe that you will not fail than nothing can stop you from accomplishing your dreams. 

Hello, My name is Christa Dickson and i am so excited to welcome all of you to our very first MOTIVATIONAL MONDAY! Motivation Monday was created in order to bring inspiration, self love and happiness to all the creatives around the world! This day is going to be used by Christa Dickson Photography to remind all of you that no matter where you are going with your art you are making an extraordinary difference! You are making a life changing, earthquaking, volcano exploding DIFFERENCE. The purpose of Motivation Mondays is to make sure you never forget it! 

Today's Motivational Monday is going to be centered mainly around progress! If you are like me, you look at amazing beautiful images every single day and think to yourself, "I wish i could do that!" I wish i had the raw talent and imagination to create something so breathe-taking and cause this kind of inspiration within a person. Well, i'll tell ya what, YOU DO. 

This is the event that began my love affair with photography 10 years ago.

                                     The "progress" three years later. 

As creative people we are growing more today than we were yesterday and more tomorrow than we will be today because we see so much beauty. Everybody started someplace, my facebook page has 191 likes right this moment and for some people, that'll seem like quite a bit but me that wasn't nearly enough. Then i stopped and actually thought about what that means. That means one thing, that i have inspired 191 people at a given moment! 191 people have looked at my page and said, "Wow, I wish i could do that!" 

You will continue to grow and as you do that you will also continue to inspire. So, get inspiration from those people with 2,000 or 3,000 followers or who's pictures are just so breath-taking. Be INSPIRED by those people, who can do things on photoshop that you have yet to even try to conquer. Mostly, be inspired by yourself and look back from time to time, realize that you have grown beyond comparison. You can change this world one single day at a time and 191 inspirational followers today, 191 beautiful amazing people may end up being 191 million inspirational follows tomorrow. 

Do not allow yourself to be put off because others are "better than you" today, you are your hardest critic. You are amazing, you are beautiful, you are talented and you are able to accomplish ANYTHING. Love yourself first, and realize you can do whatever you put your mind too and then DO IT. Do not forget how far you have come, and do not forget how much farther you will go. 

If you love this post be sure to share it. Follow my Tumblr Photography Page, my Facebook Photography Page and do not forget to subscribe to my amazing newsletter here. I love you all and i AM SO looking forward to hearing from you. Hugs and Kisses

-Christa 

Welcome to the behind the scene's of "The Keeper"

This was a beautiful close-up of the skirt used in "The Keeper". It eventually had over 50 butterflies attached to it, although many fell off at one point or another! 

It was FREEZING. It was so insanely cold and windy but we were having fun from the very first second! Caroline had to come pretty far to get onto location, so she did her makeup the way it was needed in the car. It took about 30 minutes, but while she was doing that i was putting all final touches on her costume and preparing for the shoot. She got dressed in my car while we drove the last couple minutes to the location. 

After Caroline was fully dressed, we realized the skirt was a bit of a pain. She couldn't really move without butterflies flying off, the wig getting tangled or mud getting on her. She put up as many butterflies as she could without having to move. 

There were three main locations and they were all gorgeous but slightly hidden. The first was a small path next to a pond. We also shot in a small ditch next to a tree and plastered the butterflies all around her. Luckily, the tree was really damp from the day before so we could get the wire from the butterflies in pretty easily. The last shoot was a small location with a ton of beautiful orange and brown leaves. You can see a small picture of that above, it also had amazing shaped tree's and i loved it. 

 The extraordinarily muddy path! 

This was the final location, with all the beautiful bright leaves. It was so much fun to shoot with Caroline and i know we're going to be doing it again soon! I loved working with her, she is such a blast and is a quick learner. If you enjoyed this post and want to know more about "The Keeper" please stayed tuned, as i am going to be posting the backstory on her and all the finished photograph's TOMORROW!! I cannot wait to talk to all of you again, 

As always infinite x's and o's, 

Christa 

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Flower Child

(Behind the Scene's)

Creating the scene for "Flower Child" wasn't difficult at all, besides the digging. It took me about two and a half hours to dig the ditch i wanted. It wasn't even very big, the reason it took so long is because i had to dig three separate ditches, two of which weren't even used! There were huge roots in the way of each ditch, so we just started on a whole new one and had the exact same problem. Finally we figured out a way to do the ditch without worrying too much about the roots, there was only one large root which was beside her feet which weren't even central to the shoot so we simply ignored it. 

The costume was really simple, some short blue jeans, this amazing handmade bra (made by yours truly! x] ) and a bright pink wig! It wasn't too expensive and it worked wonders. Make-up was done by the lovely amazing Caroline who i cannot wait to work with again! Setting up for the shoot was really simple as well, aside from the digging. All we needed now were the flowers and the ladder! I stood on the ladder in order to look directly down at her. It was a lot earlier to get the shots we needed from that angle as opposed to me standing above her, which would have changed the ENTIRE look. I often bring ladders with me to shoots now. 

 During the final preparations, all that happened was Caroline moved back and we shot for literally 20 minutes. It was really quick, really easy and really fun! I hope this answers all of the question's i've been getting. This shoot wasn't too difficult it just took a lot of time (digging), a lot of creativity, and the right team. I enjoyed working with Caroline and Gracie more than ever, and i really cannot wait to work with them again!! 

Enjoy the rest of the "BTS" shots! 

Infinite x's and o's. 

-Christa

Neverland & Flower Child

Introducing Neverland

a series by Christa Dickson Photography

When i was little i used to wonder about Neverland so much. Peter pan was one of my favorite disney movies, and i loved the idea of never having to grow older. When you're young your passion's are extreme, they're rugged and nobody can take them away from you in fact nobody wants too. You have more energy, power, passion and confidence.. you know nothing will prevent you from doing and being exactly who you want to be. That's what i loved most about neverland, i'd never have to give up. 

When i was younger my mother would read me peter pan, and i'd ask about the lost boys. I was afraid they were all alone, and that nobody ever cared for them. She smiled at me and said, "They have an entire world, Christa. The boys, peter, everybody living in Neverland has an entire world of magic. They have everything they need to makes the imagination run wild so don't feel sorry for them.. they can fly."

Neverland was my safe haven, my forever home. Ever since she said that i had always wondered who lived in neverland, all the people and characters we never got to grow to love. That's why i created this series. Neverland is a place of magic, and everybody need's a little magic. 

Neverland will continue to be open until i feel my heart has been filled to the rim with character's i've always wanted to create. That could be a very very long time. When you see "Neverland" i hope you stop and stare, i hope it takes your breathe away and more than that i hope it inspires you to live your life with magic. I hope you feel like a child again for a moment and remember that your passions mean more than any little quirks. Passion and love are the things that will get us through our days. I'm happy to experience these things with you, i hope i get too! 

I decided to begin the series with "Flower Child". A beautiful girl who's life on earth brought death to everything she saw and touched, until one day she fell into a hole in the earth and flowers bloomed all around her. She was beautiful, bright, and lovely. She is everything i want to be, she found her place in the world in the most unexpected place and that's where i see myself. I want to bring about the unexpected, i want you to see what i can see and find love within each character and the character's stories. 

   Below you'll find more images from "Flower Child" and i'll update more later. I hope all of you like this blog post and find some sort of inspiration from it! Please feel free to email me with any questions, comments, or concerns. I hope to hear from all of you, and i hope you all know how important your opinion's are to me. I love all of you, completely. Enjoy the rest of the photo's from "Flower Child" and the newest Gif (which is very different from any i've done yet). 

(Gif above.) 

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I'll meet you in Neverland, soon. 

infinite x's and o's 

-Christa

Swift 

There are approximately 52 weeks in a year, give a day or two. 52 weeks and in those weeks you could change everything. There is almost no chance that by this time next year you're going to be even close to who you are today. Take that in, 52 WEEKS!! 

52 Weeks to change for the better. 

52 Weeks to change for the worse. 

52 weeks worth of memories.

52 weeks worth of art. 

52 glorious, outstanding, unpredictable weeks.. 

I am one of those people who constantly struggles and not only with my art but with my identity, and those surely go hand in hand. I wake some mornings refreshed, ready and happy to be exactly who i am but by the end of the day more than once i've become insanely lost. I don't necessarily believe in new years resolutions, mainly because saying you're going to do something doesn't mean you will do it. I believe that in order to really do something you have to WANT it. You have to crave it, you have struggle, and earn it. You must know that you are WORTH SOMETHING to somebody and that you are beautiful, inspirational, creative, and passionate. That you can change in 52 weeks! You can change in 52 minutes, you can even change in 52 seconds. 

So with that said we must be SWIFT! We must be like the wind, ever flowing and passionate even if we are not seen! We must run harder, and harder and make sure people feel us! We are HERE and we are here to stay. Give yourself 52 weeks to BLOW them away! I am doing a 52 week project where i will be taking 1 photo a week, each one trying to progress higher than the last! Make a challenge for yourself, make yourself better! Make it an internal goal, something you must dig at and something you simply cannot live without. You will fall here and there, but from each stumble you will learn. That is why i created these pictures, that is why i'm showing all of you "Swift". 

Swift is more than a photograph to me, it's a new era. Swift is going to be the revolution within my artwork and within myself because i need it to be. I need to wake up every morning knowing i am doing not only what i love but what is best for myself. I want to be impenetrable  i want to become immortal within my artwork! I want it speak VOLUMES when i cannot. Swift is my wind, it's my battlefield and it's my being. Swift is going to be me... in my greatest, in my weakest, in my most vulnerable, in my most immortal form. I must Become Swift.