Mary Carol Stunkel decided to focus on one picture at a time after thirty plus years as a video producer/director. Five years ago, she began the serious study of her long-time hobby, photography. Equally at home in the darkroom pursuing her specialty of Black & While Infrared and in the digital realm, Mary Carol is reveling in the challenge of communicating through images without sound. She is president of MC Squared Productions and Furry Faces Animal Photography in Neptune, New Jersey, which offers custom pet portraiture.
Furry Faces Animal Photography blends her visual arts expertise with her genuine love of animals to produce portraits that capture the passionate relationship of animal to owner by a photographer that shares their heart, and after so many years of human models, an appreciation of the guileless nature of her animal subjects. “Although I take many photos of animals who aren’t addressing the camera, it is the directed gaze that most holds my interest,” said Mary Carol. “I don’t look for just cute pets, but furry faces whose eyes are soul windows through which we see the unprompted yearnings, joy, wisdom, and non-judgmental nature of our four-legged companions.” In each of her images, the creatures who stare back at the viewer say something worth hearing. She hopes they’ll speak to you.