Christina Block shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Good morning Christina, it’s such a great way to kick off the day – I think our readers will love hearing your stories, experiences and about how you think about life and work. Let’s jump right in? What do the first 90 minutes of your day look like?
All my weekdays typically start off the same, unless I have a shoot to be at. After getting up, I go straight to the kitchen & make a cup of coffee. Throw on some shorts/tee & get ready to take Rocky (my American Pit Bull) to the park. Take a few more sips of coffee then head out with my dog. He has a job as well, its chasing squirrels at the park; don’t worry though, he’s yet to catch one. It gets him tired & I get a good amount of movement in. After we get home, its more coffee drinking, followed by shower, then on the computer editing & returning emails.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My brand/self is fairly minimal. I don’t consider myself a fancy person, just a human that likes to take photographs & share the stories behind them. Story telling is a huge driving factor behind what I do for work. I like that space between normalcy & those in-between moments where my client (subject) can just be themselves & feel comfortable in that.
I am currently trying to form/compose a body of work that will document the downtime of people that have put some parts of their life on display for the public. Whether thats musicians, artists, authors, etc. I am fascinated by the inner stories, the people that surround them (family), support them. What they do during those down times, what their home life is like or the spaces they feel the most at ease.
Eager to get started on this & just trusting the process that everything will unfold as it should.
Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?
Good question.
I have always been me, truthfully. As a kid, I had the biggest imagination, there were no limits on what I thought I could be. Some days it was me teaching school to my row of stuffed animals, other days it was preforming a dance/song in the living room (I still love to sing by the way, I have a big voice & may or may not annoy my family members). I spent a lot of time outside rolling skating (while in my mind I was some elegant ice skater performing in front of a crowd), making mud pies & soups with water/dirt or getting into mischief in the garage.
I was very fortunate to grow up in a home where standards weren’t placed on me. My mom has always embraced my specialness (weirdness) & has always supported me doing the things I loved to do. We didn’t have much (monetarily speaking) but what that gave me was a lot of time to use my imagination, and thats pretty much shaped me into who I am today.
Kids aren’t bored enough these days & thats not a wonderful thing.
What did suffering teach you that success never could?
I am a firm believer that there is beauty in pain (suffering). I know some people may not understand that but let me explain it like this…
I’ve lost 2 of my best friends (my dogs) within the last few years; there was Bella (British lab) & Biscuit (cockapoo). They blessed me with the best love, loyalty, companionship and happiness (the list goes on) which left me devastated (heart broken) when I lost them. I mourned their loss more so than I have for any human, they were just solid gold (I believe all dogs are).
So thats when beauty & pain intertwine. Without their love (beauty), I would not know the pain of losing something I loved more than anything else.
If there were no suffering, I am not sure we would know/realize how special those beautiful moments (days/years) really are.
Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. Is the public version of you the real you?
Definitely.
I am who I am & thats the only way I know how to be.
Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: When do you feel most at peace?
I think I feel most at peace when I am in nature. Whether thats just walking outside or hiking on a trail, definitely anywhere there’s water. I like to say that one of my love languages is water, just for that reason. It has this amazing ability to quiet ones mind & that doesn’t happen for me very often.
And maybe naps with my dogs. They are my comfort/peace during my craziest of days.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.christinablock.co
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christinablock.co
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/christinablock.co
