Artist Statement

Humans are made to both crave and create beauty. As a photographer, I am a beauty-hunter. I capture a moment’s appearance, slowing down time’s progression of the subject, giving thanks for the exact moment seized by the blink of a lens. The scene is then preserved indefinitely, shared in the future, regardless of the decay that time may bring to the actual person or place.

Photography, both natural and digitally-altered, allows me to clearly consider a moment, a location, a person, for what it is; it creates an opportunity to imagine that moment’s possibilities in the future. By examining the outside of a scene in a snapshot, I’m allowed to dig beyond what meets the eye, excavating through the surface into the emotions of the scene. Each shot is a chance to be grateful in the present, passionately pursuing the truth, beauty, and goodness for which every human yearns.

Delving beyond the beauty, my photos aim to capture a sense of the extreme. My favorite shots include vast landscapes of majestic mountains, or conversely, crumbling canyons. Others feature intense close-ups: eyes of an amphibian, the delicate fingers of a woman dying, or gossamer petals. I also give attention to extremes in lighting and colors, adjusting contrast digitally to capture a moment’s emotion, yet respecting nature’s integrity. Throughout the photos, whatever the extreme, note glimpses of a recurring theme: “life is a journey,” symbolized with paths and walkways, representing my own personal passage, both as a human and an artist.

See also:

• Marie’s Online Galleries
• Photography Information (for booking)