Southern-Style: A Downhome Perspective

Many THANKS to each host who has chosen to Feature my work!! The honor is greatly appreciated!! / Momma and Me – featured in Southern-Style a down home perspective / Baby Boro – featured in Pets Are Us / Little One—in a big World! – featured in Playful Photogenic Animals / Intensive Decisions – featured in Southern Style- a down home perspective / Sundown on the Tennessee River – featured in Peace, Love and Tranquility / After the Wildfire – featured in Cee’s Fun Artsy Friends / Young & playful – feauted in Pets Are Us / Day Break…Sun Bursts!- featured in AROUND THE WORLD

Larry Graham was kind enough to interview me. ..he is my cohost at All Around Florida and he is an amazing documentary photographer with a great portfolio, quite diverse from all over the United States. His photos concerning fires and firemen are beautifully recorded, a subject, not easy to express . and His nature shots of our beautiful Florida are a real treat to the eyes. / Thank you kindly, Larry Q. Isa your home base is Ft. Meyers; do you get a chance to travel around the rest of the Sunshine State? Let me give you a bit of background first : / it has not been too long that I have been living in Florida, and it has not been long that I have been taking pictures with a digital camera. in fact it was not until 2007, that I did get my first digital.. but then , I got hooked . I am a lover of travel, indeed.. Larry. ..in fact most of my portfolio is of pictures taken while on the road. The last two years I have done much less traveling than I did in the past. But I am also a huge fan of finding objects n the home and around my yard and on the streets and roads when I take a walk . I am a big fan of finding the everyday things of my daily routine. Gasoline prices and airline struggles have made me more so . I love Florida for its diversity within a small area. It is funny, but when I travel , I mostly am visiting family, and do not take the camera with me to respect the time sort of speaking:) although my family rolls their eyes at me . when I DO decide to take that camera with me . now , that being said. :) I have this philosophy in life.. you can travel all you want, but it is home where your greatest joys should come from .. and I could probably spend a few years simply taking shots of the unending life in my neighborhood alone.. I am quite versatile in what I take pictures of .. so a statue, or the bend in the road, or the power lines or the clotheslines or the ice cream truck or the gardens, or the children playing are amazing fun to me :) Q. In addition to your children and grandchildren what are you other favorite subjects to photograph? OH dear.. i have been accused of loving too many things to photograph.. but !. I couldnt find a subject I love more than my family :) okay subjects; .. Architecture and URBAN is a huge love for me . being raised in a big wonderful diverse city of the BIG APPLE ..i now have about 600 photos of Philadelphia which I have yet to share from .. and there I took pictures of sneakers lost on the power lines:) CANDID STREET SHOTS is another deep love of mine ..this shot here.. is an example of what some has deemed me and dubbed me as “the sneaky photog”.. it is called runaway bride.. and it is one on my personal favorites . This one here was taken as I was sitting across the row from him while on a train to Philadelphia. again “the sneaky shooter” The Flowers and Trees is another area I delve into . here is one from my yard and this one is one that has an added texture , another subject I want to learn more about / and oh how I love Birds / Natural Abstract gives me a sense of the beauty in light and shadow alone Statues and Cemeteries and MONUMENTS , another area of interest. and one of my favorite is ordinary mundane objects ..and of course my beloved cows / and it doesnt hurt to have some humor ..so < i find elephants in clouds and smiles in the trees Q. If you were to name one place in Florida as your favorite spot for photography where would that be? And why? Absolutely it would be hands down Miami for its urban excitement and flavor , diversity in its people and its flair for color here is one of my very own faves from Miami. a place where every corner is a treasure unfolding in front of my eyes / Q. How would you describe your style of photography? To describe me is tough I believe, but I do have one thing that I love, I am a huge fan of my photos coming up looking like paintings rather than follow the rule of thirds. I dont look for anything deep or wide. I look for a flat up and down look . my photos are usually centered making them look like they are hung on a wall of life sort of.. and that is how I describe my art. I never hold or carry around a tripod, and I couldnt care less about f stops and depth and exposure. . lol why?.. because I am a walker first, and a photog after.. i am never encumbered by details and dont have a need to learn those things in my later years.. strange , maybe, but true.. I enjoy what I am doing so much .. maybe when I am 95 I will be more interested. Q. What other artists do you draw inspiration from? I have to stop here for just a moment , to explain something I believe is the difference in seeing something beautiful , and something special . Although I believe there are millions of great, really great photographers, i do believe that there is a difference n simply doing something that is pretty, and something that is special .. a huge difference. it is probably why sunsets and flowers simply all by themselves are not something that stop me in my tracks .. to take that flower and add a sense of why you took that shot . well, thats great photography.. Ansel Adams!. and John Muir.. lol.how I wish :).. I see Florida as much much more interesting in black and white.. and it is an area I would enjoy if I had the fancier equipment and I had means with which to travel . But as I am content with myself and my state in life , I will accept what I have graciously now on the Red Bubble, there are a few here whom I really enjoy .. Doreen is my spiritual and photography twin we see eye to eye on every aspect of life Jean Lafftau magic in the camera eyes to take the soul of a person and keep the light perfect, all in black and white Rosalie Scanlon is one person who I admire greatly for her ability to take a shot of the ordinary every day and make it something special . no fancy lighting or things of that sort.. I admire that greatly OLDRUZ I must stop here and say. i found one photographer that I am utterly amazed at and want to emulate, and the reason being is the photography he does , sort of reminds me of me. i hope he doesnt mind my saying so.. I just discovered him not long ago.. and wil be enjoying his photos very much others that I gawk at Shoiab . works my heartstrings with his poetic images I could look at a slideshow all day with the nature and landscapes of Rodeorose / / Adrian Donahue master of tone and intrigue Lorena Maria Lore has a flavor so strong and delightful, moving, loving portraits and street scenes Elizabeth Bravo my cohost in “Post Cards” has a magical way of displaying light with emotion in the shadows in a city or home or wherever she goes Pmistric has humor integrated into a most wonderful unique vision work Lois Bryan and her landscapes .. wow Tatum Wolfe has a sense of humanity in her amazing street candids micmac tells a story simply by placing up her amazing photos here on the bubble Helen Bascom completes her artistry with social awareness par unmatched on the RB the list is quite long.. Q. Your gallery contains many projects that are beyond the scope of “All Around Florida”, tell us about some of these artworks? When I first started shooting my main objective was to document. I am a huge fan of history and memories. and I joined flickr as an outlet to simply share.. it is there that I fell in love with a diversity of mediums with which I could have fun with :) always having an artistic flair about me .. I delved into some fractals and some collages...this one is one in which my love for natural design and collages are fused in one / / . I became known as the collage queen .. and couldnt get enough of that under my hat. . it was a great way to show 20 works in one:). but there are many areas which I had yet to want to delve into . and my love for Abstract has always been with me since i was a child .. so!!)))) .. my favorite abstracts are faces :).. / here is one of the faces that I worked on , not too long ago : Q. You host several groups on RedBubble how does this enhance your community experience? May I just let these groups tell the story , and you tell me if they make a difference. Thats a hard question, Larry. I do hope even in a small way I might help promote beautiful amazing people along the journey . all around Florida / 50 things / All Street Portraiture / At The Store / Exceptional Ekphrasis / First Things / Live Love dream / Postcard Style / Puerto Rico Photography