january 2007 - Professional Photographer Magazine

at first, she eased into it and fell in love. Four
years ago, Schumacher struck out on her own.
Well, almost on her own. When thenamateur
photographer Eric Shunk asked
Schumacher for a date, she put a camera in
his hands and dragged him to the two
weddings she’d lined up to shoot that day. “I
told him this was the life I lead,” she says
brightly. Three-and-a-half years later, Shunk’s
still by her side and shooting weddings.
“He’s been a great shooting partner. And he’s
become a great photographer.”
Children’s portraiture was a natural offspring
of wedding photography and, along
with adult portraits and pet photography, is
a healthy part of Schumacher’s business. Most
of her professional work is digital (Canon
EOS-1D Mark II, Canon EOS 5D and Canon
EOS 20D), but she sometimes uses her film
cameras as well (Hasselblad XPan, Canon
EOS-1v 35mm SLR). And the film in her
fridge? Kodak T-Max black-and-white film,
Kodak Portra NC and VC, and Fujicolor
800 ISO color negative film. Schumacher
nearly always shoots film for personal work,
which is most often travel photography.
“Every summer I try to take at least a
month off to catch up on my wedding stuff
and to travel,” she said. “When I travel I feel
I’m disconnected from everything that’s
familiar, and I can really get to know myself.
In places where I don’t speak the language, I
feel especially vulnerable, and it helps me
know what’s real. You have to figure out things
on your own. It’s a new culture, new life and
it gets me thinking. When I’m stimulated
visually it keeps my photography fresh.” ■
To see more of Hollye Schumacher’s work,
visit her Web site, http://hollye.com.
Lorna Gentry is a freelance writer in Atlanta.