Artist Statement: As a photographer and a poet, I’ve learned to give close attention to small things. A minnow weaving its way through the grass at a moon high tide, a shelf lichen climbing up a tree trunk, a constellation of rust on the side of a dumpster—all are equally beautiful if observed closely, whether in words or in images. For me, the lens of a camera focuses attention. Often I find my photographs become a study in pattern, line, or color, the actual subject itself almost secondary to the textures, but the subject is always my starting place. And sometimes I find my subjects in surprising places: the drain spout in my backyard, the crazed blue paint peeling from a factory door, a truck stopped for gas. To make each photo, I take multiple exposures, shooting over and over from different angles, often focusing in closer and closer until the composition feels right. It may seem obvious to say that looking carefully shows us the world differently, but I relearn this lesson every day. |
This page copyright 2000-2010 by Lisa Hammond | last update 8 January 2010