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Home is a great many things. It can be the place where we grow up, the place we end up, or those who wander into and out of our pathway. A midwestern girl at heart, these photographs are a collection of not only physical places my geo-code, but the people and moments that inhabit those spaces in my memory.
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A limitless panorama of shifting color and form, the sky beckons constantly for our attention. From cloudless, dazzling blue to celestial rays, the ever changing expanse over our heads is like a master storyteller. Weaving light, color, and form it has the ability to hold us captive, feed us inspiration, or collaborate in the great mystery of human emotion.
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The allure of a lock, the instinct to look through a pane of glass; these are powerful allegories to explore. Ending or beginning, exploration or confinement; strong is the desire to discover what each holds. I have long been fascinated with the beauty, detail, and mechanics of such simple and useful devices. Round or square, painted or bare wood; the simple act of walking through a door or lifting a sash can begin a journey or shift our direction in the most compelling way.
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Picasso has a wonderful quote about the human face and who sees it more correctly, the photographer, the mirror, or the painter. Something so capable of such a range of emotion is sure to garner the attention of all three. All beings have extraordinary ways of expressing themselves. The great challenge and good fortune of any photographer is the ability to capture the depth of that expression in a single snapshot.
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Inherently a lover of Impressionistic art, I find myself constantly drawn to that momentary capture of the sensory effect of a reflection. The dream like quality reflection can have is both transporting and transcendent. An instinctual glance at a windowpane, a reflecting pool, or even a pair of sunglasses can result in a whimsy, confusion, or a very quiescent moment.
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As novelist Alice Walker so succinctly says “The animals of the world exist for their own reasons”. It is such a tremendous honor to co-inhabit our planet with these incredible creatures, who are capable of a great deal more than we will ever truly comprehend. Being present in a sacred moment with one of them can be spellbinding, humbling, or completely disarming. The eyes.. the face… the hands… simply incredible!
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Welcoming the unexpected is not for the faint of heart. The images in this assemblage were gathered under the strangest of circumstances. The intent was to shoot something else but these moments presented themselves instead, bringing valuable lessons along with their cast of characters. Learning to dance with what is in front of you can be a invigorating experience when you relinquish the need to control the outcome.
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My first true exploration in photography came when I began to see nature through the lens of a camera. Worlds were revealed, and the delicate and resilient structures of inherent beauty within those worlds were like an elixir for my curiosity. I find myself revisiting time and time again florabundas in its many forms, but not only for the exquisite delicacy contained within their structures. I find that they whisper to all of my senses in the richness of their heady perfumes and vibrant textures.
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That beauty can exist in so many varied forms and states is one of the greatest lessons of one of our most critical resources. As a classically trained musician I often hear snippets of music rushing through my head when photographing water; Smetana’s Die Moldau, Debussy’s Snow is Dancing, and Holst’s In The Bleak Midwinter are among the many themes in my brain’s constant whirlpool of sound. From the earliest light reflecting dewdrops on a spider’s web to a rushing creek bed after a rain, water provides a constant wellspring of photographic inspiration.
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I find myself quite overtaken at times by a euphoric stupor when I am deep in the moment of photographing something. It is at such times I wish for multiple sets of hands to capture what I am seeing and hearing around me. The wind as it crackles through a field of dried cornstalks, the thrum of metal track made by a distant train, an early morning in the dessert where time seems to hold in stillness. It is an unstoppable energy bursting forth like the E.E. Cummings Poem, shouting “this is the birth day of life and love and wings and of the gay great happening illimitably earth”!
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There is power in the collective, and this set of images is all about the many. Collections of ephemera are not only visually appealing, but they tug at something in us that identifies with pattern. Even nature gets in on the act in this grouping. Flying solo is not allowed here, as these shots find their strength in numbers and pairingsl
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All form and no substance is the thing of which shadows are made. One of the most creative and intelligent pieces of advice I have ever received as a photographer was not to disregard the shadow. He’s a mysterious fellow, it’s true. Playful, enigmatic, and most assuredly hard to capture with clarity but most certainly worth the effort.
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One; a most singular number. Even in a crowd, you can be alone with your thoughts. Some of the world’s most luminous thinking has been honed in a state of oneness. There is no questioning the impact of a single strong image of power and beauty. This simple group showcases the one, rather than the many and is an uncomplicated attempt to pay homage to the audacity of flying solo.
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Cue the Simon and Garfunkel, Woody Guthrie, and Peter Paul and Mary. Better yet, just go hug a tree. I unashamedly admit, I love them from their bark to their branches. How can a person not fall head over heels for leaves of autumnal hue, gnarled roots and trunks, and arms open wide for climbing and rope swings. Here they are photographed in all of their forms and seasons. Settle in with a copy of The Giving Tree, a hankie, and your favorite childhood memory. C’mon… you know you love them too.
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What is more critical to a photographer than light? The enchanting interplay between light and dark is not just one of the holy places for a photographer, but for us as individuals. This concept of chiaroscuro, present in all of the arts, is the place where the contrast (between light and dark) exists to inform the viewer of a revelatory depth; form is best achieved by how the light falls against it. Capturing the essence of how light dances across a solid form can not only illuminate the form itself, but our understanding of it.
