An inside look at the fine art
photography of Ashley Bilodeau.
by Janice Randall Rohlf
Ashley Bilodeau is a self-taught, natural-light photographer whose gallery, All Points Beautiful, has been a fixture on Main Street in Chatham for 10 years. An artist at heart ever since she can remember, Bilodeau cycled through poetry, songwriting, and even yoga before becoming smitten with photography. In curating the perfect backdrops for her yoga clients, she quickly realized she was most drawn to organic landscapes, and she is grateful to live on Cape Cod where such settings abound. Currently, she lives in Orleans with her husband and their nine-month-old daughter.
When did you first get into photography?
I remember sitting next to a friend who was incredible at everything he did in our middle school art class. I wanted to be an artist so badly, but I hadn’t found anything I was actually good at. I started writing songs when I was 12 years old, wrote poetry throughout the years, and even studied interdisciplinary art, but it wasn’t until I was in college in Vermont that I actually picked up a camera. It was a friend’s camera. As soon as I looked through the viewfinder, I knew this was it. I started by taking photographs of people and eventually that led to food compositions, action sports, and yoga portraiture…I even did some wedding photography at one point until I realized my true calling.
How would you describe your photography style now?
I do more environmental portraits—the dance of nature. I take photos of the ocean, surfers at the National Seashore, the waves, and more meditative walking themes, some still life. Really whatever crosses my path that inspires me.
I’m a realist. I don’t Photoshop my work or modify it aside from a little exposure now and then. For me as an artist, I’m witnessing the world as it is, in its perfect timing. I also grew up here on the Cape, and my hope is to inspire younger people to live here year-round.
And when you’re not shooting for your gallery?
Right now, I focus on private collections. For example, clients on the Vineyard invited me to come over and spend a few days shooting their property and favorite places on-island. From the collections I made, they chose which photos they wanted, and I helped place them in their home. They even got to name them!
Another service I offer is home-visit consultation. I’ll take measurements and snapshots of specific places where they want to hang my artwork and advise them on what will look best. I’ll even do a deep dive into my archives to see if anything that I haven’t released might work well in their space—just like an interior decorator would do. I do this virtually as well as in person.
What are your favorite locations to shoot?
I love the National Seashore, Nauset Outer Beach. The Vineyard is also incredible, from the lighthouses to the dunes. I am very grateful that I can walk out my front door most days and find something spectacular to capture that I might have never noticed before.
What is your favorite part about being a photographer?
My goal is to create a more peaceful environment in people’s homes. Just stepping out into nature helps us take a huge, deep breath. If my artwork can be a backdrop to complement the lives that everyone has in front of them, that is a pretty big gift. And that is what I do.
595 Main Street, Chatham
508-280-6228
@allpointsbeautiful
