(January 11 I'm having my first photography show, at St. Gregory's in San Francisco. One of the things I have to do is write an artist's statement. This is the draft I've submitted to Paul Mahder, my curator and friend.)
I live in San Leandro with a strong-willed calico cat, too many books I rarely read any more, and almost 9000 pictures on my hard drive. I wore out my first good camera in the 1970s, took pictures at a fledgling country club in the early 1980s, and then money (the lack thereof) and life diverted my attention from photography.
July 2006 I was gifted with a Nikon digital point-and-shoot, and I had the feeling that I had come home. As good as the intervening years had been—writing and editing, painting and making collages (though making collages was sweet indeed)—I had the sense that this was what I was meant to do. The hard work felt easy and exercising my eye rejuvenated my soul. In a very real sense I came back to life.
January 2008 I was gifted with a Nikon digital single lens reflex that I carry with me almost everywhere. I take pictures of everything that crosses my vision—at a height of 44 inches, my height sitting in a chair. I am particularly fond of the homely detail, the ironic (or iconic) inconsistency, the wear and tear of urban life I can see and reach from the sidewalk or through the window of a Paratransit bus.
Throughout I try to shoot with a “benign eye” that reveals the beauty in what may not be conventionally pretty or generally noticed. Formal values—color and composition—are crucial, though I’ve never met a rule I’m unwilling to challenge. My earliest visual mentors were the Northern Renaissance painters who held everything they saw in the same pristine clarity, which I take to be a kind of love.
Note: "3808" and "Wild Bunch" appear on my photostream at Flickr.com.
2 comments:
Just discovered your blog tonight...I'm also a blogger/photography loving person with O.I. so we have a lot in common! As a total novice photographer, it's frustrating to me sometimes that I'd like to shoot from a taller/different angle but can't get there. How do you deal with that?
Kara, I usually shoot with a 55-200mm lens which helps in terms of distance from my subject. The further away I am, the less my height is a factor. Sometimes I hold the camera above or below my eye level and do guestimate composing till I get something that works. Mostly, there's so much I can see that I'm not too bothered by what I can't get to. Often I'll ask people to sit or kneel down so I'm not looking up at the underside of their chins. My power chair affords me a fair degree of choice in how to approach a subject. I tend to shoot lots and select the best of any particular batch, then go on to something new. I invite you to visit my photostream at Flickr.com:
Lynn Park. Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment.
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