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"For the thousandth time, it must be said that pictures speak for themselves, wordlessly, visually - or they fail." ~Walker Evans

Hello ~ I'm a freelance documentary & fine art photographer based in San Francisco, CA.

I truly love making pictures -- all kinds, all the time. Although I do generally prefer shooting with beautiful, natural (or available) light and prime lenses. I sometimes struggle with defining myself as a photographer because to do so feels confining to me (I'm very resistant to limiting myself to a single genre, style, subject area, or mode of inquiry). As a result my photography is somewhat eclectic -- much like my sense of fashion/personal taste? -- and I'm often at a loss when someone asks me, "What do you shoot?" At the risk of over-simplifying matters, I like to photograph whatever strikes me as interesting or beautiful or poignant or funny or relevant or meaningful or...[the list goes on]. I also like exploring themes and ideas through my work. I tend to gravitate toward narrative details and small or spontaneous but defining moments. And I'm consistently drawn to people and portraiture (I love hearing people's stories, or else trying to imagine them) -- and found things...or 'reality' (however subjective that notion may be!); things pretty much as they are, or at least as I encounter/see them, whether that's people or objects or landscapes or scenarios.

I also love butter and singing and old-fashioned snail-mail and spontaneous, unexpected gifts. And shiny things. Flora & fauna. Leftovers! And wordplay. My favorite game --hands down-- is Boggle. A long time ago I lived in Paris, where a little piece of my heart still resides...

[A short list of things I don't like: phonies, cheapskates, and liars. Excess packaging! HDR.]

I would be remiss if I didn't mention that I am available for assignments or commissions (commercial, editorial, corporate, private); if you contact me with details or questions, I will get back to you promptly. I also sell prints by special order, and sometimes via galleries or shows -- pricing, editioning and other details provided upon inquiry.

I use Flickr like a sketchbook -- for posting personal pictures and samples or outtakes from assignments, for inspiration*, for testing (of ideas, treatments, styles, etc.), and for general, informal sharing of images and observations. Ergo, this is not a tightly edited presentation of my 'best' photos -- or a singular, visually coherent body of work. Much of what you might see here is representative of 'my work.' But some of what you see here is just me having a life.

That said, all of my images are © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Please don't steal or 'borrow' or re-post my photos, or use them for any reason without my permission. Seriously. Don't be schmuck. This is my work and photography is my livelihood.

A limited number of my photos here on Flickr are available for licensing through Getty Images. (Scratch that: I terminated my five+-year relationship with Getty Images in April 2014.) For all inquiries -- regarding usage, licensing, availability of prints, etc. -- I welcome you to contact me directly, either by emailing me through Flickr mail, or via my website by clicking on the link over there to the right for CYNTHIA WOOD | PHOTOGRAPHY.

And lastly but not leastly, I created a couple of self-published books using Blurb that I'm pretty excited about: one in eight (which was named as a finalist in the Documentary category in Blurb's 2011 "Photo Book Now" international competition!), and BRIGHTER FASTER (which was listed as a "staff pick" in Blurb's online bookstore -- thank you, Blurb!): www.blurb.com/user/CynthiaEWood

one in eight. By Cynthia Wood Book Preview

BRIGHTER FASTER By Cynthia Wood Book Preview

*There's really so much good work here on Flickr (for all you naysayers out there). If you still need proof, just take a stroll (or a scroll) through my favorites.