... Perseverance

For this blog post, I was tasked with watching two interviews my photography professor conducted with different photographers―Areca Roe and Marlow Amick― and then reflect on their work and how my perception changed after hearing them speak about it.

When it came to Areca, the interview focused mostly on a recent project she did concerning unique pets. This particular interview really drove home the importance of patience and perseverance when pursuing a project... especially one that concerns living creatures. If she hadn't been patient with the subjects, she wouldn't have captured their true nature in their domestic environments. If she had no perseverance, she may not have captured the unique photos of these domesticated animals trying to camouflage into their surroundings. I hadn't even begun to realize how much time had been invested into this project until she began to speak about it.

During Marlow's interview, I was particularly struck by how "uncomfortable" she was with her own style of photography. When asked why she kept the wrinkles and shadows in the sheets she so often uses as backgrounds, she answered that it was a test on herself to avoid what the universe considers as perfection. In response to this interview, I chose to do the same thing with the sheet for my still life project (as a lack of "perfection" makes me uncomfortable as well) and they turned out amazing! I never considered that making yourself uncomfortable in your art will result in the best pieces... it applies in life, so I don't know why I never considered it to be the same in the photography realm.

If you would like to see the amazing art these women create, their websites are hyperlinked to their names in the first paragraph!