My interest in photography took a big leap forward when I retired from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in 2002. At that time, I was using medium format cameras with black and white lm. I had a darkroom and was able to print my own images. Photographic workshops took me and my husband, Ron, to the Northwest and Southwest. There I absorbed the lovely landscapes, learned much about composition and the use of light. When digital cameras came along with a quality similar to what I could get with film, I embraced the new technology and abandoned my darkroom. Adding a telephoto lens to the equipment gave me the power to do wildlife photography.
In addition to wildlife, I love taking landscape photos. Over the years, I am drawn to manipulating those landscape images into how I want them to look rather then what they were at that moment the camera captured the image. With computer tools such as Lightroom and Photoshop, I am able to process true landscape images, or create something totally dierent. I refer to this process and end result as “photomontages”. Basically, I layer images on top of each other and select the parts that I want. It gives me freedom to take images of things that do not make a composition. A stock of images stored on the computer for later use is quite liberating. Photography over the years has gotten easier, and yet ever challenging.
I need to give credit to my husband for all the help he has given me over the years in Photoshop skills. And, I give MIVAL credit for allowing me to show my work. My first hanging was with the Holiday Show where I sold my first piece. My advice to novice photographers is to check out the work of as many photographers as you can. Inspiration comes from many sources. Begin in your own backyard!
It is the light and shapes of nature that catch my eye. Photography freezes in an instant what the mind tries so hard to remember. I enjoy altering nature to reflect my creative vision. Lately, I have enjoyed layering images to create a feeling that is not static, or real.