My adventure in photography started in 2007 when I got my
first DSLR. I have gotten a LOT more serious about learning the craft and the
images I take in the last 4 years. I wanted to go beyond capturing just my
surroundings and start creating rather than simply taking the images. My
creative vision and my photography enthusiasm still not quite match the images
I produce. It is something I much struggle with and try to work on improving
and bridging the gap.
I’m most drawn to nature and this is where I find myself the
most connected to the objects or scenes I attempt to capture with my camera. I
also care deeply about our natural environment, wildlife and preservation of
the natural beauty that surrounds us. Getting outdoors with my camera is my
escape from the daily routine and the long hours spent at my office desk – I
work in IT. I derive a great amount of joy from being outdoors with my camera whenever I
can. Photography allowed me to connect with and explore nature in a lot more
conscious way.
I shoot mostly landscapes and seascapes, usually when the
light is most favorable for nature photography (sunrises and sunsets). I tend
to be really drawn to the dramatic and strong colors, often most pronounced during changes
in weather. I very much like black and
white images, though I process mine in this way rather infrequently. As much as I enjoy shooting in the great outdoors, I also much enjoy the
post processing in Lightroom and Photoshop. I love to see the end result of photography as
a printed work though I do so infrequently.
I look forward to learning, collaborating, sharing ideas and
exploring during the class.
Here are few of my very recent images (a series captured in one evening) at the Manassas Battlefield Park, VA.
@Anna those are some really nice shots. Very dramatic. I've taken photos to Manassas Battlefield in the past and something about the open nature of the field with the skys allow for some great photography.
ReplyDeleteOn another note, I too work in IT so that's nice to know
I'd be curious to know if anyone could say something about whether Anna's images draw any particular sense - feeling or idea - about the very evocative juxtaposition of dramatic, moody skies, colors forms with cannon. Would someone be willing to say anything about what kind of images these are? Do they go beyond "nice shots?" (you too, Anna, what do you think?) Or are these just neat shots with cannon and moody skies, period?
ReplyDeleteAnna, I like your statement - it demonstrates a serious interest in creating something interesting photographically, which is backed up by your series of images. You remind me of that Martha Graham quote about divine dissatisfaction I ineptly tried to paraphrase the other day, here quoted at some length from a blog called A Sacred Fool:
In case it resonates with others, here it is, from Agnes de Mille’s 1950 autobiography, Dance to the Piper, in context. It starts with Agnes de Mille’s words.
“The work wasn’t good enough. All changed, all passed. There was no way of ensuring lasting beauty. Verily, I wrote in water and judging my work with a dreadful dispassionate vision, perhaps it was as well. I spoke to Martha Graham on the pavement outside of Schrafft’s restaurant. She bowed her head and looked burningly into my face. She spoke from a life’s effort. I went home and wrote down what she said:
‘There is a vitality, a life-force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how valuable nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep open and aware directly to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open….’
‘But,’ I said, ‘when I see my work I take for granted what other people value in it. I see only its ineptitude, inorganic flaws, and crudities. I am not pleased or satisfied.’
‘No artist is pleased.’
‘But then there is no satisfaction?’
‘No satisfaction whatever at any time,’ she cried passionately. ‘There is only a queer divine dissatisfaction, a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than others.’”
Btw, searching for that one, I came across many more MG quotes. You might have fun reading them and seeing how many apply equally well to photography as to her medium of dance:
http://www.dance-quotes.net/martha-graham-quotes.html#.VLf0EcahXZc
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ReplyDeleteThank you for that wonderful quote, a delightful food for thought…. Divine dissatisfaction…
ReplyDeleteI am a little familiar with Martha Graham and the revolutionary contributions she has made to dance, a medium of expression so fleeting and in reality non-reproducible. Dance steps/choreography can be recorded (now better then before with the help of video) and dance steps repeated but what’s different in each repetition is the inner emotion influencing those steps, dance’s body, and movement at that given moment. That “unique expression” Martha Graham speaks about, only present in that single moment. And yes, I agree, this is quite applicable to photography. I am not who I was yesterday, and I suppose the image I take tomorrow will be different I took today. And I will look at it differently tomorrow… Devine dissatisfaction… the moving force of evolving while trying to capture the fleeing moments. Dance – photography – painting – poetry – music – the means to no end “no way of ensuring lasting beauty”.
we can only keep trying...
ReplyDeleteHello Anna. I love the colors in the sky which to me convey very different feelings. For me a battleground like this is sacred ground: people fought and died there. So the first photo tells me with a beautiful sky colors, and the peaceful grass, the canon pointing into the photo, that the battle is over and hope, not conflict, is now there. The second photo shows a sky heavy with clouds and focuses sharply on the canon which is pointing in my direction: perhaps that was the way it looked like the day of the battle? The third photo seems to me similar to the first photo but more dramatic and somewhat intriguing like asking "...is new day of hope and peace coming?" That explosive lights in the sky do not let me think a new day of peace and hope has arrived as in the first photo. And the fourth photo with its dark skies for me evokes a battle that might have just ended or may still be going on.
ReplyDelete