There ’ s this time of day where the hills to the west are dark and the hills to the east are highlighted by the sunshine . . .
Cristen Roghair
Cristen Roghair story by KATE NAJACHT
14
South Dakota is a rare bird . We ’ ve all heard it time and again from everyone from lifelong residents to brand new transplants from states and countries far and wide . There ’ s something about South Dakota , the Black Hills and prairies in particular , that appeals to so many . What is it ? How to put one ’ s finger on it ? Is it a combination of myriad things ? For Cristen Roghair of Cristen Joy photography the culmination of multiple reasons can be summed up in one word : rest .
Born in Indiana and currently living on a ranch near Murdo ( Okaton ), the love for photography was almost always a part of Cristen ’ s life . Her mom was the classic documentary photographer , cataloging their everyday lives and events : birthdays , milestones , you name it . And Cristen ’ s father , who went to the Philippines as a missionary upon graduating from high school , had a second reason in mind : sharing Christian films .
It was her mom who gave her her first camera : a Kodak Insta-
Photo by Robert Cota
matic 110mm for which she bought flash cubes with money saved from babysitting . She was13 at the time , she recalls , and says it was then she knew she wanted to become a photographer .
At the age of 2 , Cristen and her family moved to the suburbs in northern Illinois where she began school and realized how much she enjoyed art . Her first art exhibition , if you will , was in 3rd grade . She was busy learning the foundations of art and it became important to her .
Then the family moved to Murdo in Cristen ’ s eighth grade year and there were no art electives .
“ So I took journalism , which was about as close to art as I could get ,” she said , “ and took photographs for yearbook .”
After graduating high school , Cristen returned to Illinois and took a job at an hour-photo studio . She started in sales , but soon realized how much more she enjoyed the lab , processing photos and using the print machine .