Catherine Armstrong, Unraveled | An Interview

Catherine is a natural light photographer who has been obsessively photographing her family for the past two years. She is mumma to two gorgeous boys ; Camden 3 and Percy 1 and wifey to Angus, they keep her on her toes and thoroughly entertained. They live in beautiful New Zealand and spend their days building dens, playing dinosaurs, climbing trees, and reading. Catherine dreams of one day having a full night of uninterrupted sleep and drinking a hot cup of tea in one sitting.

You can find Catherine on her blog, Everyday Mamma, where she documents motherhood and her children, as well as on her Instagram.

We are stoked to say that Catherine recently released a behind the scenes video where she takes Unraveled students inside her adorable home as she creates self portraits with her children. This video is included inside the Academy and available alongside hundreds of courses and lessons.

Catherine is warm, kind and teaches her on her vision and process. Join us for only $15.00 a month and gain access to new and old content, 24 hours a day.

Join us today.

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Here is Catherine, Unraveled….

What inspired your art?
Capturing our everyday moments, especially after the birth of my second son, time seemed to be speed up x100!  In the flurry of daily life it’s easy to forget all the small joys we experience,  photographing the kids is my way of slowing down and savouring every moment.

What do you shoot with? Camera body and favorite lens?
I have a second hand Canon Rebel 550d (which I started photographing with 2 years ago) and I still use from time to time. I upgraded last September to the Canon 6d Mk i which I adore, lens wise I have a Canon 50mm F1.8, 50mm F1.4, 24mm F2.8 and I recently bought the Tamron 35mm F1.8. My favourite combination is my Canon 6d and Tamron lens, as a Mum of young children it allows me to be very close to them while still getting a wide angled shot.

What other ways do you express your creativity?
I love to cook which is lucky because I do all the meal planning/cooking!  Before kids I was a passionate sewer and made all sorts from cushions to patchwork quilts. Now I have neither the time nor energy for such big projects.

How do you de-stress at the end of the day?
It’s the small things for me; having a shower after the kids have gone to bed,  a quick bit of editing, watching some TV or having an early night.

What kind of music do you listen to while editing?
I don’t listen to anything in particular but usually there’s something on in the background during the day ( I recently discovered the Teskey Brothers so they’ve been on repeat!)

What is your favorite book?
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Name one movie that inspires you.

Gosh I haven’t watched a movie in so long!!! My kids love watching this cartoon on Netflix called Puffin Rock (it’s Irish so the accent alone had me hooked!) the animation is so so gorgeous, lots of texture and soft muted colours. 

How do you handle self-doubt or creative slumps?
This is a tricky one as I’ve only just started paying attention to patterns of self doubt. I think the first thing Ive learnt is to be kind to myself. I can quickly spiral in to negative self talk which is not great so I have started journalling and just writing it all down. Ive been trying to turn the negative stuff into  positive affirmations. I’m big on trusting my creativity too, if I’m not feeling overly creative with photography I’ll leave it for a bit and just give myself time to mellow and do other things. 

What has been the most difficult part of your creative journey?
Finding a balance online between feeling inspired and connected to the photography community, and not comparing my journey to that of others. 

Who is one of your favorite photographers?
I don’t really have a favourite, I love lots of different photographers for different reasons!