Justine Crowley has been capturing her vision of the world since she was three years old. She describes herself as a
photorealist capturing landscape, architecture, and portrait, coming to realize that theme across all her subjects. Justine synthesizes the abstraction of the every day into shapes and colors and elements, often making the viewer take a second look to process the photograph. She has participated in juried shows across the country. Her last solo show was on Dirty Linen Night 2024 at Salon Diversions. Crowley started shooting in black and white early; and even still has the negatives from her third roll of film. She now shoots with everything from her iPhone to her father’s Yashica Range Finder to her Canon 6d DSLR and her Hasselblad 500C/M.
Justine lives in New Orleans with her dog and two cats
Artist Statement
Chasing the light is a phrase we photographers often use to try and describe our process. I realized that phrase didn’t quite capture what I am trying to do when I press the shutter to capture and image. As I walk through this world of ours, a glint of light – maybe a reflection or a burst of color will catch my eye. Some times this will be a large thing – a landscape at the horizon, buildings in a city. Other times, I see a pattern. The pattern of the leaves of a tree, the petals of a flower, ridges in the sand is one aspect of what I try to have in the frame. There are times I see what will be best produced in black and white. Other times, a riot of color, especially when caught in a reflection that highlights the colors is where my focus is. When I push the shutter, I am trying to capture a small glimpse of how I see the world around us. When a viewer stops and really looks – and then maybe takes a second glance, this is the act of engagement I am trying to create, whether the viewer is confirming they are seeing what they think they saw, or just looking at small details. Inspiring this second glimpse is my ultimate goal when capturing our beautiful world.
My journey started on film decades ago and progressed to slides for color while staying with film for black and white. Then moved on to digital, but missed the rhythms of developing my negatives. Three years ago I ventured back into the world of film when I purchased a dream camera- a Hasselblad 500C/M. Which camera and medium I use is subject and circumstance dependent. I am so happy to be back developing my own negatives and printing my own photos in the darkroom. I had not realized how much I missed it.
