Meet Colleen Lee

Today we’d like to introduce you to Colleen Lee.

Colleen, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
As long as I can remember, I have been involved in music and performance in some aspect. I’ve been a singer since I was a child and am currently an actress, singer, and youth theater director in the Denver-area theater community. I’ve sung in various bands over the years — mostly with my husband Patrick Lee, a jazz pianist and composer — and am currently one half of Ryann & Lee, an old-time country outfit with the lovely Erika Ryann. I recorded a solo album, The Kid From Spain, under the name GIRL a few years ago. My mother is an artist and the process of practice and creation and making things has always been around me, so much so that I didn’t even notice it until fairly recently. Which brings me to photography.

I have become fascinated by the quiet beauty of the artist’s work. The behind-the-scenes (and the creation of art is mostly behind-the-scenes, as artists know) aspect of these special, self-driven people. There is a special spark that happens — and it takes a special kind of person — when a person sees the world as open for interpretation, has an idea, thinks, “I am going to try this,” and does it. It seems very simple. But the older I get, the more I realize how special and intangible this simple leap is. And that many people do not make this leap. The innate, inner confidence of an artist that he or she has the ability to put something new into the world and does so simply for the reason of wanting to see what it will look like once the idea gets out of his or her brain. In it’s purest form, it has nothing to do with money — and is, for this reason, very difficult to value monetarily. As all artists know, it is very often NOT valued monetarily. I have many thoughts on this, but this is not the topic I want to talk about right now. What fascinates me and wows me and floors me and makes the world so beautiful is that artists still make art. All the time. Everywhere.

There is a great quote from the Gillian Welch song, “Everything Is Free.” She says, “We’re gonna make it anyway/Even if it doesn’t pay.” I got into photography because I wanted to capture and validate and bring recognition to the quiet work of artists. Most of the people I photograph in this regard have “day jobs” or do not make the majority, if any, of their money from the art they make. Actors, musicians, dancers, composers, builders, writers, etc. My fascination lies in the special spark they all share. That after a long day of work, an artist will always be working on something, practicing for something. And I think this is so wonderful that I want to capture the artist at work and validate the beauty of the self-driven process. If for no other reason than the artist will be able to look at the photo and see his or herself and be reminded that they are, in fact, an artist.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
A smooth road? I guess so? Haha. Artistic communities are very open and welcoming to people’s ideas. The only road-blocks have been self-made, which is often the case with everything, isn’t it?

Tell us more about your work.
Colleen Lee Photography is just me taking pictures. Mainly performance and portrait photography. I would say I specialize in candid photography that tells a story. I like to be a fly-on-the-wall and look for moments that wouldn’t normally be photographed. These tell the best stories and are the most interesting to me. I also enjoy taking portraits, but the pictures I like best are the ones taken in between the posed shots because, again, these have the stories. 🙂

Contact Info:

• Website: https://colleenleephotography.smugmug.com
• Email: colleenleephotography@gmail.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/colleenleephoto/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/colleenleephotography/

Image Credit:
Colleen Lee Photography

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