New England based Photographer Cassandra Mulcahy is a jack, or rather queen of many trades. Musician, certified music therapist, & artist are only a few of the many hats this talented lady wears. It is her passion for photography specifically, a passion that was ignited as a small child, where the emergence of her real creative side has blossomed. The images Cassandra captures are inspired by the people and things she encounters day to day. Her ability to bring voice to the still images she captures is affecting, evoking a presence where words are null in void. Scream Loudly is thankful to Cassandra for taking the time to chat with us.
SL: First off can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
CM: Certainly! My name is Cassandra E. Mulcahy. I am a board certified music therapist with a love of all creative art forms. My favorite things are peaceful locations, long walks in the woods, vegetarian food, and human kindness.
SL: How did you first become interested in photography? Was there a moment when you knew that photography was something you just had to do?
CM: I think my interest in photography came in stages with people I met along my journey. When I was about 6 years old, I remember pulling a chair up to my parent’s junk drawer in the kitchen. There I found a 110 film camera, and asked if I could use it. Much to my excitement, my mother had told me that it was a gift from my godmother that was given to me at my baptism. It was so exciting to me to own such a powerful tool! After awhile I lost touch with photography. After I completed my undergraduate work, I began dating a photographer and became a subject of much of his work. I became interested in digital photography editing by watching his process. He gave me my first 35mm camera, a Pentax K1000 (named snaps). My dear friend Richard Carroll then introduced me to toy cameras and medium format film. I have been in love with all types of photography ever since.
SL: What are some of your favorite things to photograph?
CM: The things that inspire me. These things could change at any moment! This mostly consists of my friends, relatives, pets, beautiful things in nature, abandoned architecture, adventures. I am always seeking new ways to see things, and photography is a great outlet to explore perspective.
SL: When you go on one of your travels, what all do you take with you? What’s in your camera bag?
CM: Either a Canon T2i with a flash, wide angle and 50 mm lens OR a combination of my holgaroid, panda, and snaps :) Sometimes I bring clothes to dress up in too.
SL: Is there something you always say to yourself/think to yourself right before pushing the button?
CM: I have never thought of this part of my process before! Instinctively, I always exhale when I snap the shutter. I suppose on a subconscious level, I am breathing life into my light creations.
SL: How do you seek inspiration? Is there an artist whose work has influenced you the most?
CM: I seek inspiration through meditation, adventure and change in perspective. I have a difficult time finding a single artist who inspires me. My photographer friend RJ Carroll has been the biggest support and inspiration in the development of my photography. Other photographers that inspire me lately include Lesley Arak, RanaX, and Karen Jerzyk.
SL: How do you educate yourself to take better pictures? How do you hone your craft?
CM: I have a great community of photography friends that I am connected with online. Exploring their work, researching new toys or occasionally watching a YouTube tutorial is how I progress. However, I think that with any artistic or creative medium, the artist refines his or her work as he or she develops. It is a natural progression of our individual and cultural evolution. I think that just growing has helped me to develop.
SL: Among your works, which one is your favorite? Why?
CM: I most enjoy collaborations that have come from the inspiration of my subject. My mother daughter shoot is a good example of this. I also think that one of my early photos of abandoned books speaks greatly about the value of things that people leave behind.
SL: Has the way you view the world shifted since becoming a photographer? How have you been influenced?
CM: I believe that my abilities to reframe various situations and see moments and ideas from various perspectives has been attributed to my growth as a photographer and as a therapist.
SL: What has been the most rewarding thing thus far since picking up your camera? Have you encountered any challenges?
CM: My most rewarding thing is probably when people share my work, or write to me to let me know that a particular image has meaning for them. My biggest challenge is finding time for editing photography. Since going digital, I have mountains of files that have gone unedited. Someday I am sure I will be inspired to revisit these moments and solidify them.
SL: You are a musician as well correct? Can you share a little with our readers on this part of your life? How does music influence your art?
CM: Certainly! Like photography and my other creative pursuits, I do my best to explore various music tools and media. The more I can get my hands on to improvise with and express with, then the richer my life will be. Music and photography both use vibrations to aid in our expressive potential as human beings. We can capture light or sound and call it art. Such a magical system we have created! I believe that my two processes are intertwined. Right now I really dig expressing with raw unedited sounds, and photographically, I prefer film. Also, my photography challenges my songwriting perspectively. Sometimes I go through writers block and taking my camera for a stroll reminds me to take things from a new angle, or a new viewpoint through a different lens.
SL: If you could take your art in any direction without fear of failure or rejection, where would it lead? What new thing would you try? What would your future look like?
CM: What a fabulous question! What I would LOVE to do is to find employees, patients, homeowners, visitors, that once resided and worked inside of various abandonments. People who have deep memories and energetic attachments to places that have been shut down and forgotten. Then I would love to capture them inside these memorable places that have been taken over by nature. There is a whole cultural history that we are locking up and ignoring, that is being torn apart by copper thieves and vandals. I believe this speaks heavily about our evolved acceptance of those with health and mental health conditions, and the history of our treatment of them. It would be a glorious project to expose this bias so that our culture can begin healing. This is something I cannot achieve with music. However, most places consider photographing these facilities trespassing, which could result in heavy fines or arrests. Urban exploration and documentation of decaying buildings is certainly not new, but it is a 10 year pastime of mine that I fall in and out of love with due to the risk involved. If legality and money were not an issue, my future would look like a nation wide travel spree to document the people that have connections to forgotten places.
SL: Lastly, what advice would you give to someone interested in embarking on this journey?
CM: Let your heart guide you and you can’t go wrong :)
To check out Cassandra’s photography visit her Facebook page here. To listen to her music check out her SoundCloud page.
