Thursday, July 17, 2014

Inspiration ~ Kirsty Mitchell

I never believed it could be so easy to contrast the consumerist/techno-worship culture of camera collection against true artistic photographic image-making creativity.

I am moved by the stories of art creation and with the incredible images of John Wimberley, Christopher Burkett, and Bill Gekas.   I wonder at the technical talents of Sandy King and Kerik Kouklis.  I miss my talented friends, Ted Mishima and Ray Bidegain.  I try to understand what drives their vision, practice, and try to incorporate aspects of their approach.

Going into a recent photoshoot with a fire breather and bellydancer I thought I had enough of a vision and image design to make the whole thing work.  Alas, I'm not sure of and am not yet convinced by the results.  It appears I need to pay more attention and to spend more time working on "seeing" images before picking up a camera.

Today I read Kirsty Mitchell's latest blog post about her last and final image in her amazing Wonderland series.  Here is a moving example of an artist exploring the depths of human emotion.  Photography is clearly the vehicle Mme Mitchell uses to express her feelings, and yet the tools of image creation are rather unimportant compared with her ability to design, craft, and create a fantastic world into which we're invited to step.

My creative world is rocked (as it is nearly every time Kirsty lets another image escape into the wilds).  My world is moved.  My vision thoroughly challenged.

How to apply what I appreciate and learn from her approach?


The Dragon

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