| Elizabeth
Anstadt
Downey .... A few years ago, Kodak celebrated the 100th birthday of the Brownie Box Camera. The Brownie was my first camera and photography was love at first click of the safety pin. In the photographs of me proudly holding this camera, I appear to be about 10 years old. As a teenager I gave the Brownie to Goodwill after buying a Kodak Duaflex IV twin lens camera I still have! |
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Although my college undergrad and master's work was in law and then sculpture, I never stopped photographing my world. To me photography is all about seeing. We each see life with a unique twist. Photography is a way of expressing your personal perspective of your experiences in life. Much of my photography "happens" through serendipity. While traveling along I will suddenly see an image I'm compelled to capture. I will stop and make the photograph and the image is now recorded. On other occasions, I plan. Influenced by music, poetry, or thoughts, images will pervade my senses and thus I'm at the beach during high surf, sunset or sunrise. |
Holstein |
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On another day, I am outside placing marbles on a mirror on the ground beneath a flowering tree, having just heard a song that inspired me to create the image. It does not always work. The marbles will not stay in place. On another day in the dark morning loaded with camera gear and coffee, I climbed several flights of stairs of a motel tower to capture the sunrise beyond Hattaras Lighthouse. As the dark night turned to dawn, the lighthouse became obvious but due to weather conditions and low-hanging clouds, there was no "sunrise." About to pack up the camera gear, I looked down the stair tower and "Drafting Table" was made. Having grown up on a farm, rural landscapes fascinate me, barns in particular here in the east and grain storage units on the western plains. They are topographical sculptures. Moreover, they are disappearing. I find beauty in the weathered wood and contemplate how many men and women built the structure. As a genealogist, I marvel at the stories within these monuments. Too often, I have enjoyed photographing a barns beams and structures only to see it disappear a short time later. |
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California Biker EAD
Larryville School Flag
Prevailing Winds
Sarah
Waterford Shed and Rail |
Humor is all around us: in the cow looking out of its stall, the bald headed man with a ponytail, skirt and wild shirt watching Scottish games, the goat standing in the middle of a cattle feeder, and the biker in California repairing his Harley beside the Christmas tree made of stacked poinsettias. The digital world has expanded photographic possibilities. When I'm in a car, so is the digital camera. Once the image has been transferred to the computer, the fun begins! The same magic one finds in the darkroom is now in the computer. Creating fine art in any medium often requires the artist to develop an identifiable personal style or statement. As a sculptor, my work was primarily figurative imagery. I have not been able to settle into one genre in photography and find fascination at the photo buffet from portraits, landscapes and animals to abstract and humor. It is my hope the viewer finds as much joy in my work as I did creating it! Contact the artist directly for custom photography, framing, photo restoration and graphic design at: Mountain View Imaging, Elizabeth Anstadt Downey, (570) 435-2007
Barn Shed
Kitty Lessons by Appointment
Mardi Gras Firetruck and Wreath
One Amish Boy
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