I have been seriously interested in photography for the past 14 years, changing from primarily taking landscapes and straight photos to using photography as artistic expression.\u00a0\u00a0I am more or less self-taught, with a few good lessons picked up along the way from mentors and fellow photographers.<\/p>\n
I am drawn to photography as an artistic medium because, for me, it combines an instant of recognition with a certain amount of decision-making and imaginative thinking afterwards.\u00a0The more I work on a photograph the more it feels as though it’s my own.<\/p>\n
Lately layered photography has been my focus for the creative freedom and excitement it gives me to be able to take two or more disparate images and make a piece with a different\u00a0feeling than any of the individual components. My store of multi-disciplinary images have become the building blocks for my photo\/art. \u00a0 My series entitled “Conversations with Thomas”,\u00a0a mix of my own images with sketches done 200 years ago by my great, great, great grandfather, Thomas Hastings, can be found in Gallery 8 here on Salt Spring Island.<\/p>\n
I was delighted to be asked to participate in Photosynthesis this year and to delve into the theme “Pretty Pictures?” I have taken the liberty of interpreting\u00a0 “pretty” as “impactful” for my \u00a0purposes and my contribution asks the question, “How are we affected by pretty pictures?”, or “What does art do to us?” and is the product of my amused conjectures.<\/p>\n
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