The Rabbit’s den

This creative work initially appeared in Vol.1 of our April 2016 release titled Masks.

Catherine Cayden, KC, and Rassamee Gesell created “The Rabbit’s den” at Stefan Gesell Studio in Munich, Germany.

The Rabbit’s den Photographed by Catherine Cayden Featuring Model KC Make-Up & Styling by Rassamee Gesell Created at Stefan Gesell Studio in Munich, Germany

The Rabbit’s den
Photographed by Catherine Cayden
http://www.facebook.com/CatherineCayden
Featuring Model KC
http://www.facebook.com/KC-PAULA-583595298368254
http://www.instagram.com/kathahe
Make-Up & Styling by Rassamee Gesell
http://www.facebook.com/rassamee.gesell
Created at Stefan Gesell Studio in Munich, Germany
http://www.facebook.com/fotosym
http://www.instagram.com/fotosym

Catherine Cayden is a photo-artist & fashion designer based in the south of Germany. Back in 2008, she started to work as a retoucher and taught herself the techniques and secrets of Photoshop. I became more and more interested in photography and found my passion in photographing people. She enjoys a variety of styles of shooting from beauty to dark art and fantasy. She gives great attention to details and creates extraordinary outfits.

Gothesque: This content is playful yet dark and mysterious! Let’s start off by finding out all the technical information.

Catherine Cayden: “I used a Canon 5D Mark II with a 24-70mm lens. It’s my favorite combination, and I use it for the majority of my pictures. The set up was quite easy. We used a beauty dish above the model and a strip light on the right to brighten the background a little bit because of her black clothes.”

Gothesque: On average, how long did each composite take to create? Do you consider composites a specialty of yours?

Catherine Cayden: “That’s completely different. It depends on how complex each composite should be. Pictures like these should be finished very fast. But I’ve also made artworks with hundreds of elements where I’m working on for several days.

I started as a digital artist and taught myself the techniques of retouching over the years to create very special artworks. So yes, composting will forever be my thing.”

Gothesque: Do you shoot the backgrounds used in your composites also?

Catherine Cayden: “In the beginning, I only used photos from official stock pages, but with time, it became difficult to find the right things for my composites. So I started to take my own stocks. I’ve become a big fan of so-called lost places and go on tour to abandoned hospitals, factories, castles, and so on several times a year. I’m fascinated by these storytelling buildings, the beauty of decay, and the special light everywhere around you. This allows me to create a much more mysterious and unique atmosphere for my pictures.”

Gothesque: Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

Catherine Cayden: “Ten years is a long time, and I’m still at the beginning of everything. There are a lot of things I like to learn, like 3D techniques and digital painting. My main goal is to have my very own photo studio and to turn my side job into a full-time job one day.”

Gothesque: Which photographers influenced you, and how did they influence your thinking, photographing, and career path?

Catherine Cayden: “Well, there are a lot of artists which influenced and inspired me. First of all Uli Staiger. When I saw his great artworks for the first time, I was really fascinated, and he is the reason why I started with Photoshop. The second is Stefan Gesell. I learned a lot at his workshops, and I really love his dark/macabre style and his partly minimalistic methods to create amazing pictures. Rebeca Saray and Peter Braunschmid (BrownzArt) are another two heroes of mine whose work inspires me every time.”

Gothesque: What motivates you to continue taking pictures economically, politically, intellectually, or emotionally?

Catherine Cayden: “James Wayner once said: ‘Digital photography allows us just not to capture memories, but it also allows us to create them’ That’s exactly the way I’m thinking. My head is full of ideas that are just waiting to be realized. And with a huge team of photographers, models, designer, and stylists you even get more and more ideas and can your imagination run wild. To see that people like these results is a great feeling it shows me I’m doing the right thing.”

Gothesque: In life, do you ever feel that you yourself hide behind a mask?

Catherine Cayden: “I think it’s not good to hide your personality behind a mask. For example, when I was a teenager, I got into the gothic scene, which was not easy all the time. But I stand by it and could not imagine living in two worlds permanently because everybody wants me to be what they want me to be.”

Gothesque: How would you describe your personal style?

Catherine Cayden: “I’ve always been a big fan of horror/fantasy/sci-fi movies and the gothic and baroque/rococo style. Maybe that’s the reason why my pictures always will be dark, imaginative, and characterized by bright colors.”