Favorite Photos

The idea of photography as an art form really came to my attention Columbus Day Weekend in 1993.  My dad took me and my sister to Arizona, where we got to see the Grand Canyon and many other amazing sights.  That trip was my first time on a plane and my first time west of Indiana, and my first time in a different time zone.  But what I remember most about that trip was my dad’s obsession with taking pictures of dead or leafless trees.  At first I didn’t get it: what was so fascinating about bark?  But then when I saw how his pictures came out, I started to get it.  He and my mom also had posters of Ansel Adams prints, and I started to take an interest in the play of shadow and texture that Adams brought to his work.  As I got older and began experimenting with my own photographs, I found myself drawn to shots of trees and branches, or anything with varying textures.  Some of my favorites are below.

I snapped this shot with my Windows Phone while waiting for a play to start in Chester, MA

 

  On a whim on day, I stopped at a park and ride to see if I could get a nice shot of a nearby bay, I discovered this lovely combination as well. (Vivtar, 35mm)

Another stop on a whim, I wanted to get a shot of a church steeple near my college campus, but found this collection of branches (Nikon, Coolpix)

  

This gorgeous tree is in Gettysburg Cemetery.  As I walked around this tree, I couldn’t shake the feeling that she is shaped like a woman.  Still one of my favorite shots (Vivitar, 35mm)

These two pictures were taken at Lake Chocorua in Tamworth, NH.  I had picked my brother up from camp, and he wasn’t thrilled to have to wait around for me to take pictures, though he was pleasantly surprised that it only took me 10 minutes to burn through a roll of film (Vivitar, 35mm).

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