I am especially interested in elasticity of light as it dances around shadow and reflection . My fascination began when I studied darkroom photography in the late 1990 ’ s . I used my father ’ s Mamiya-Sekor fully manual camera , which he purchased secondhand in 1969 , and processed the film and developed prints in the darkroom . A light bulb moment occurred when I was dressing for an evening out and dropped my handheld mirror , which shattered on the ground . As I bent to pick up the pieces , I saw my reflection in the broken shards … an eyeball here , an eyeball there … another eyeball there …. I began to explore ways to capture imagery through broken mirror . The results were sometimes ethereal and sometimes edgy , depending on my aperture and shutter speed , along with ambient light and position of the camera .
My fascination with elasticity of light continues to this day . One of my favorite things to do is take my camera “ window shopping ” by walking past store windows with the camera lens facing the window , recording superimposed images of what is behind the store window while simultaneously reflected by the store window . It ’ s intriguing how the camera lens “ sees ” differently than your eye lens . The effects are similar to double exposures or sandwiched negatives . I ’ m pretty much a purist when it comes to imagery - what my camera sees is what I print . I do not use filters and my editing is minimal , maybe a slight boost in contrast and a touch of straightening ( I do have a T-square in my head ).
My preferred method of using photography in art is through image transfer . I transfer my photographs directly onto my substrate and love the soft , rustic , gently distressed imagery that “ develops ” from the process . It ’ s beautiful as a stand-alone technique and also as the foundation for mixed media collage or painting . When the wax hits the surface , it saturates the color and gives that irresistible glow . I ’ ve been exploring the technique for years in my visual journal , encaustic wall art , and bound journal covers .