A painter captures something in his mind, and a photographer must find that something and capture it too.

I’m much less concerned about technical excellence and more about the way an image makes me feel.

THE EMOTION OF LIGHT 34THPARALLEL MAGAZINE ISSUE 001

Photography is discovery for Chris Niesmertelny. “A painter captures something in his mind, and a photographer must find that something and capture it too,” he says.

Chris also sees photography as an existentialist media. “Being in the moment, in shifting conditions,” he says, “and capturing that emotion of light, or a shadow revealing something you didn't even know was there.

“I'm much less concerned about technical excellence and more about the way an image makes me feel, the way my mind processes the colors, or shapes, or movements of light on a subject.”

Chris Niesmertelny (you say his last name Knees-mer-tell-knee) was a technical, precise photographer, sweating over exposure and focal length. “Taking beautifully precise images of flowers was a worthy pursuit,” he says, “but I felt nothing.”

He got serious about photography as a way to occupy his time while he quit smoking. “Photography became my escape from an addiction, but it also turned into an escape from my life at the time, a way to separate myself from my married life though I didn't realize it then.”

Chris smiles and says, “I'm still smoking now, but I'm no longer married.”

Chris grew up in suburban New Jersey and graduated with a degree in Radio, TV & Film from the University of Maryland. He lives in Montclair, NJ in an apartment building called Hawthorne Towers but there is only one building even though it has plural name.

“It is an ugly, Stalinesque block of a building,” Chris says apologetically. “Montclair is home to some wonderful architecture, and it seems as if this building was purposely built as ugly as it could be as a contrast. It has a swimming pool and since my son loves to swim I was sold on the place. But it's ugly.”

Seems Chris has an affinity for swimming pools. The cover picture was taken in a pool in Jamaica. The model is his girlfriend Tobi Wright and they did the shoot while on a holiday together.

“I met her, or rather she met me, online,” he says. “We hit it off immediately. Something with us clicked.

“Perhaps because I love her I see my images of her differently. I don't know if I could replicate the same feeling with just any model.

“I think my best photography shows the emotional connection between subject and photographer, and while many photographers will tell you they are just portraying the image before them, there is always an editorial choice being made.

“My editorial choice with my girlfriend is purely to display the beauty I see in her, and while she is a great subject to pose nude, I think her personality, the beauty within her, is what I'm taking a picture of when we work together.

“I'm sure many people, when they see my images of her, see a lovely body and a decent photographer, but I see so much more.”

The equipment for the underwater images is simple. A Canon PowerShot A85 and Canon DC30 underwater housing, a kit anyone can afford.

“I bought it to take snaps of my boy in the pool and ocean, but I quickly realized the beauty of fluid movements in a fluid environment,” Chris says.

He makes a living working for an insurance company as a manager in the claims department. “I've been with the same firm for 16 years, and there is no connection between my hobby and my career,” he says.

So where is he going with his photography? “If I knew where I was going I'd probably not want to go! Photography is my hobby, nothing more.

“Would I do this as a career? Probably not, I'm not very good at marketing myself and I really only like to take pictures of things I like.

“Shooting a wedding, for instance (which I've done), would drive me crazy and reduce my desire to take pictures.

“Now, top fashion photographer could be a career, but I'm more likely to win the lottery!”