Portrait of Gretchen Yanover - Cello Artist
August 1, 2018
We were flying to Utah and after rushing through baggage check and going through the always long lines at Seattle, we were pleasantly greeted by the most soothing and relaxing cello music. My husband decided to investigate while I remained with the baggage, tired and exhausted. But I must admit, I was still curious about who was playing such beautiful melodies. Mukul walked back to me all wide eyed and showed me his iTunes where he just bought the album of all the tracks that were being played by the artist. He met her and bought her first album on the spot--that's how awesome she was! Gretchen Yanover is that artist whose music touched our souls in a very calm, soothing, and peaceful manner. Once we reached Salt Lake City, we drove through the grand mountains and mesas of Moab and guess what? The whole experience was elevated to a completely different level with Gretchen's music playing in the car. It was just surreal! Months have passed since then, and yet we still listen to her songs all the time in the car, at home, and at work. I admire her talent, skill, and perseverance at doing what she loves for a living. She genuinely inspires me so I just had to reach out to her and make a portrait of her and her cello. We met at my studio one day and got some beautiful portraits done. I decided to do long exposures for this shoot to accentuate the movement of her playing on the electric cello. There’s rhythm not just in her music but also in her movement as she plays the cello. This was shot with the Mamiya RZ67, using Portra 400 film, and converted to black and white in post. I look forward to making more portraits of individuals who inspire me and leave a mark on my life.