Meet Christy Lee Rogers of Leipers Fork

Today we’d like to introduce you to Christy Lee Rogers

Christy Lee, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Filmmaking was one of my first loves; one of those obsessions that I developed as a teenager and carried on into adult life. It began with experimental short films, and then tv commercials in order to earn a living, and finally feature length independent filmmaking. Up until that point, I was one of those private closet photographers, showing very few of my images. I was always misunderstood as a photographer, but in 2009 I did my first exhibition in Los Angeles and I never looked back. Today my work is represented by eleven galleries worldwide, from Shanghai to Dallas, Texas, and I spend my days in my home studio in Leipers Fork, TN creating.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It’s never a smooth road, but more of a wild journey of self discovery. I started as a starving artist, sleeping on friends couches and never knowing where my next paycheck would come from. In many ways there was a freedom to that which I miss very much. One of the biggest challenges as an artist is that constant need to outdo yourself and your last work. That feeling that it’s never enough.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I specialize in underwater contemporary baroque photography. And recently I was commissioned by James Cameron and Disney, to capture the stars of Avatar: The Way of Water—Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, and Kate Winslet—for a special project supporting The Nature Conservancy and ocean conservation; and inspired by the vast, mysterious beauty of the oceans and the world of Pandora.

My process is raw and full of challenges. Using water as a medium to shoot through is almost like a science experiment, where everything in the environment is up for study and testing, and so it requires patience. Water is a substance that reacts to light much differently than air; light moves slower in water because of its density. And because I shoot at night, lighting then becomes a whole new set of challenges. Typically, I work alone with my subjects.

It’s not easy for the subjects to be down there underwater but that’s also what I want to capture in the images, is that struggle and vulnerability, and the overcoming of these obstacles. They can experience the beautiful weightlessness of no gravity, and on the other side there’s the difficulty of breathing or seeing, or knowing which way is up or down.

I think I’m most known for the compassionate and sensual visual storytelling through my images. But I’m most proud of my ten year old son. He’s my personal favorite creation.

If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
If I ever wanted to lose myself in anything; that feeling would have been the strongest in high school, where my favorite days were spent with an old 35mm camera and in a dark room. But as a child I was mostly a performer, creating funny characters to perform for my little brother. My next and ultimate love was painting, although I ripped up and destroyed almost every painting I’d ever painted. And then I fell in love with poetry and experimental filmmaking. Photography became a way to combine all of these art forms I loved. I was that shy artist that was waiting to burst out of the seems.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.christyleerogers.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christyleerogers/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChristyLeeRogersArt/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christy-lee-rogers
• Twitter: https://x.com/ChristyLeeRoger
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ChristyLeeRogers