Artistic and archival quality is the foundation for all that I create, from recording the image onto film, to the darkroom work, to the final presentation of matting and framing. My goal is to provide works that not only please from a personal view but also form an artistic view, giving you a treasured memory you can pass on to your next generation.My shooting style is spontaneous and passionate, with an instinct of being “in the moment.” I have discovered that this positive energy brings out fun reactions in between the well composed shots that everyone enjoys seeing over the years.
I began taking pictures around 9 years old with my first camera, a Kodak instamatic with that groovy flip flash. Something about capturing moments in time found its way into my heart and I was hooked. From the years that followed, I consumed all the info. I could about photography and in Fifth grade discovered a book on Margaret Bourke-White. Although her works are impressive, it was reading about her shooting style and strong determination to live out her dream that gave me the courage to believe I could do the same. From 11 years on, I knew what I was meant to do with my life and am continually confirmed in this every time I click the shutter.
In High School I found people willing to teach me the craft of film and darkroom. In college I pursued an interdisciplinary degree where students could write their own major at Eastern Michigan University and received a Bachelor in Photography with concentrations in Child Development. From these years of study, I gleaned the desire to continue learning from my inspirations and found the art of shooting and printing “by feel.”
Having started out as a “traditionalist” it is easy to say that is why I remain one. Some of that reasoning is true, yet it is because I also use digital that I find my first love that much more appealing, it keeps me centered in the roots of photography. I believe digital has a well deserved place in the world, yet I also believe traditional methods have that same well deserved place. To me working with the luminosity of a silver based medium cannot be compared, and should never be. Traditional and digital stands each on their own merit and can oftentimes assist one another.
I do work with color film yet my heart is with black and white and I will frequently have my camera loaded with BW Infrared film. BW lends itself to the simple and classic quality I look for when creating a work, it strips the world down to hues and shades, enhancing the drama of light – which is the lifeblood to all photography.
My darkroom methods have been described by my husband as being like a “mad scientist,” I’m always living within my curiosity and how to get the best of an image onto beautiful warm tone print papers. Next to shooting, creating under the amber lights is where my passion really lives.
God has blessed me with the desire to continue living out my dream and I look forward to passing this on to you by providing a work that captures your own artistic memory.
