Love in focus

In addition to being very skilled as a quilter and maker, Christine was also an accomplished photographer. This passion came from her father, Wayne Conrad.

Wayne shared some thoughts about their shared love of photography:

I got my first Kodak Brownie camera at about the age of six and have been an avid photographer ever since. I gave Christine her first point-and-shoot 35mm camera when she was about eight years old. She took to the hobby immediately. As I upgraded my equipment, I handed down my more sophisticated gear to Christine. Then the friendly competition began... not only in Nikon equipment used but also in creativity.  

As she went through her art training at Syracuse University, her creativity and technical expertise continued to soar, exceeding my capabilities. I am extremely proud of her. I have an Industrial Design degree, and our common backgrounds and interests created a strong bond between us. We discussed and collected art. We liked to visit art museums and galleries. We talked about photography editing, technical issues, equipment, and creativity. She helped me with my computer issues.  

Christine was my muse, inspiring me to be better, more creative, and to continue my pursuit of creativity well into my senior years. I will miss this connection with her beyond what words can express.

When I met Christine, she was still shooting on a Nikon film camera. I still have it, along with an older Nikon F that Wayne had handed down to her. Like most people, she eventually made the jump to digital camera technology, first using Nikon equipment and later switching to the Fujifilm X system.

She seemingly always had a camera in her hand, and this intensified when we became parents. As with Wayne, Christine’s children were her muse. Even though they rarely cooperated, Christine managed to take some beautiful photos of Spencer and Milo. She also enjoyed artistic photography, particularly the genre of detailed close-ups known as macro photography. I don’t yet have enough of a handle on her digital files to truly do her body of work justice, but I will share them in the future.

Christine got me into photography a bit too, and one of my favorite things to do was take photos and videos of her while she was taking photos. (Sorry Wayne, I stole your muse.) To be honest, it kind of annoyed her most of the time.

Christine’s love of photography also rubbed off on Spencer. He enjoyed playing around with her camera gear and as a teenager would frequently pull out his phone for more than just documenting his skating journey. He could never pass up a sunset or an artsy snap of something that caught his eye.

Just this past Christmas, I bought Christine a new camera, a Nikon Zfc. It’s a modern digital camera designed to look like the old Nikon film cameras that she and Wayne used to use. She was excited to get back to her Nikon roots but had only taken a handful of photos on it before the crash. I wasn’t sure whether she took it to Wichita, but once I built up the courage to go out to her sewing studio, I found it sitting on one of her sewing tables.

When Wayne came to Providence for Christine and Spencer’s memorial, I gave it to him, on the condition that he toss it in his bag and use it—just like she would have.

He agreed and didn't waste any time.