Cynthia was born in Huntington, LI. Her love of photography began soon after, once she got her hands on her dad’s Kodak 110 at HersheyPark and took pictures of every ride to help remember the trip. What followed was a series of Kodak Instamatics and finally, on her 16th birthday, the piece de resistance...a Minolta X-700 SLR. She was hooked.
After graduating from James Madison University in Harrisonburg, VA with a major in Communications and a minor in Studio Art, she landed her first job as the official Ski Photographer at Massanutten Resort. A small local mountain, Cynthia’s favorite photos were the ones she got to take of the "SkiWees," the preschool ski students at the base of the mountain. As the ski season ended, she moved further south for a stint as a photojournalist at the Staunton Daily News Leader in Staunton, VA. Being the main "features" photographer, she gained lots of experience and skill as the "right-time-right-place" sort of photographer that would propel her into the fine art world as someone who can see a great photo and know when to take it.
Moving back to New York to open the first Expressly Portraits Studio on Long Island, her love of photographing children was cemented. And seeing the joy on the parents’ faces at the beautiful shots of their children, who were crying just five minutes before the sitting, was an added bonus.
The black and white darkroom at a later job as a freelance photographer at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory rekindled her love of that medium from her days at JMU and so she continued her life’s journey as a fine art photographer. Exhibiting her works throughout NYC, Long Island (click here for New York Times review) and at several galleries back in Virginia, Cynthia became well-versed in the art of self-promotion. Art today is not just making pretty pictures, but marketing, sales, and promotion as well.
After her son was born, she took some time off from the workaday world to be a stay-at-home mom. Once he started Kindergarten, she returned to work at The Long-Islander newspaper here in Huntington, writing the weekly column, The Not-So-Stay-At-Home-Mom and shooting occasional photos for the paper for the next two years. As more galleries opened their doors to her, the old love of the art world came beckoning, and soon Pixelstick Photography was born.