Christina (she/her) Sacramento Delta 2020
I was already familiar with Anastasia’s work through posts I had seen shared on social media- I didn’t realize how powerful photographs of the human body could be. We live in age where cameras can capture incredible detail and we have to ability to share these images far and wide- yet, when we come across images of people (especially on social media) the overwhelming majority of these images are altered heavily with filters, overlays, and digital editing. For many, many years now I have had this unsettling feeling after scrolling through social media that people are starting to look the same. Why was I feeling this way? I found the answer in Anastasia’s work. Her photography captures the human image exactly as we are. There is room to observe and appreciate the details of the human face and figure and differences that make us unique- the opposite of what I had been feeling. When I spoke with Anastasia before our shoot, I had expressed the things I had felt self-conscious about- surgical scars, a lifelong battle with a connective tissue disorder, etc. All of these things I had been actively concealing for a very long time. After our shoot, Anastasia handed me the camera and said, “look.” It was the first time I have seen myself in my entirety, instead of focusing on things I thought were flaws. She was right- when we look at ourselves, we fixate on these things. She showed me, myself for the first time. Since having this session with Anastasia, I truly see myself differently. I feel as if I have cut myself free from self-doubt and can now “just be.” It’s beautiful to be able to appreciate ourselves and others exactly as we are. This has changed my life. To everyone reading this- “just be.”