Shadow + Light: Pensacola's Fine Art Photographers

Bush Dweller, Vivian Spencer

Shadow + Light

compiled by Kelly Oden

Many in Pensacola are aware of our abundance of commercial photographers—those who shoot weddings, architecture, family portraits and corporate headshots—but what we don’t see quite as often are the works of our local fine art photographers. Fine art photography focuses on the inspiration and vision of the artist, rather than satisfaction of a client or commercial appeal, to create a unique, original body of professional work.

Kristen Regan

Kristen Regan received a Master of Fine Art degree at Savannah College of Art and Design and a Bachelor of Fine Art degree in Photography from the School of Visual Arts in New York. Over the years travel has been a driving force in her work. She has traveled extensively through Europe as well as to India, Egypt and Venezuela and is currently an Associate Professor of

Photography at Pensacola State College. Her work has been published in national publications as well as numerous photographic catalogs. She has had multiple solo and two-person exhibitions and her photographs have been featured in galleries in Puerto Rico, New York, Maryland, Virginia, Kentucky, Georgia, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Colorado and Louisiana.

Describe your work or style: Over the years I have enjoyed working with organic materials to create still lifes to investigate photography with a scientific curiosity. My newest series “Plastisphere” expands on this theme by creating still life sculptures from discarded plastic to question a culture of consumerism and sustainability.

You use a variety of unique materials in your work. How are you inspired to incorporate these elements? Does the concept come first or the materials? I was motivated to create the "Plastisphere" series after watching a video of plankton eating microplastics proving that tiny bits of plastic have been introduced into our food chain through bioaccumulation. After researching plankton, I was inspired by the stunning delicate structures to create my own interpretation of these creatures using plastic. During weekly beach cleanups with Ocean Hour, I collected discarded bottles and used a blowtorch to melt the plastic. The thin translucent plastic looked like liquid glass, and I fell in love with the new delicate sculptural qualities of the transformed bottles. The resulting pieces were shot on a black background with a ring light to emulate the look of scientific slides of plankton specimens. In the past, I have worked intuitively but recently I started conceptually and allowed the process of working with the materials to inform the final product.

Ctenophora Aquafinas 20" x 20"

What kind of equipment do you use? What’s your process? Digital? Analog? Why? I like to experiment with different mediums and methods of presentation to bridge the gap between traditional photography and other forms of artistic expression. I enjoy shooting film but recently my work has transformed into digital composites. Ultimately a body of work will dictate the medium that is used, sometimes evolving throughout the series. My latest series began as sculptural pieces that I photographed and then manipulated in Photoshop. I recently used the wet plate collodion process to make direct images of the plastic sculptures. This historic photographic process involves coating a glass or metal plate with a viscous solution and submerging it in silver nitrate to sensitize it to light, exposing the plate and finally hand pouring developer to create a unique tintype. I may incorporate additional analog processes into my work if it fits the concept.

Much of your work seems to have a connection to scientific, environmental or political concepts and issues. Tell me how these topics inspire you. Plastic pollution has become a global epidemic with more than eight million metric tons entering the world’s seas every year and I am passionate about minimizing my impact on the environment. Ocean Hour is a non-profit dedicated to weekly cleanups of local beaches and waterways. I enjoy attending cleanups and I encourage others to get involved to make a difference in our community.

I researched a variety of plankton and attempted to create new ‘specimens’ complete with scientific-like names that incorporate the brand name of the product with a creature it was inspired by. The image Sapphirina Dasania references the type of water bottle photographed, “Dasani” and “Sapphirina," a tiny Crustacean known as a Sea Sapphire. The males of the species flash a brilliant iridescent blue color that scientists think play a role in communication and mate recognition. Another example would be Ctenophora Aquafinas, named for the Aquafina bottle used and the resemblance to a Comb Jellyfish. Ctenophores

(Greek for “comb-bearers”) have fused cilia arranged along the sides of the animal. Many ctenophores, like various other planktonic organisms, are bioluminescent. In a way, I am inventing my own species of plastic plankton.

Tell me about your use of the circle crop to display your images. I am drawn to circles, bubbles and spheres for their perfect shape and form. My images that take a circular format often reference the cyclical nature of life. Ultimately the final image dictates the specific aspect ratio.

As an arts educator, do you ever find yourself inspired by your student’s work? How does teaching art make you a better artist? Every year I am fortunate to have students of all ages that motivate me with their creativity. It is inspiring to be surrounded with fresh views on photography as a medium to express themselves. When I started teaching photography it became clear that I would need to study harder than when I was in school so I could keep my material fresh and updated.

What are you currently working on? My current body of work is "Plastisphere," the term was created to reference the ecosystem of microbial organisms that form

on floating plastic. These drifting habitats have the potential to host dangerous pathogens and leach toxic chemicals into their aquatic environments. The "Plastisphere" series was created using discarded plastic to create abstract still lifes to question a culture of consumerism and sustainability. The images are printed on aluminum and range in size from 20” x 20” to 30” x 30”.

Polycystine Heinzia 20" x 20"

Where can people see your work? The "Plastisphere" series will be on view through April 7 for PhotoNOLA at Luna Fine Art Gallery @ The Mercantile Hotel in New Orleans. PhotoNOLA is an annual festival of photography currently in its thirteenth year with exhibitions taking place in venues citywide.

Five pieces from the "Plastisphere" series were purchased by Innisfree hotels for their private collection to be displayed in their Executive Boardroom at the Hilton on Pensacola Beach.

My work will be on display for the Faculty Exhibition at Pensacola State College from January 21 to March 13. I am scheduled to give a presentation based on the "Plastisphere" series at the LIDA film festival in New York on Feb. 9. My website KristenRegan.com features several bodies of work.

vivian spencer

Vivian Spencer is a native of Pensacola and regionally known as an artist, curator, lecturer and professor. She holds a MFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, Maryland, where she was a Graduate Art Fellow. Spencer has exhibited her photographs extensively and her work is represented in many public and private collections, including the Pensacola Museum of Art, The Cinco Banderas, the West Florida Regional Library, and the collection of the City of Hagawara, Japan.

Recent awards include visiting artist to the Hida region of Gifu Prefecture, Japan, The Ars Longa, Vita Brevis, artist of the year award

and Edna Rivers Excellence in Teaching award. Additionally, her work has been published in Contemporary Photographers, Illford Corporation, Florida History and Art Magazine, Florida Division of Historical Resources and several one-person and group exhibition catalogs.

Spencer is Director of the Anna Lamar Switzer Gallery and the Charles W. Lamar Studio, Pensacola State College, where she curates a combination of regional and national exhibitions, publishes catalogs and arranges for visiting artists, workshops and lectures.

You’ve been called a photo artist. What is the difference between that and a photographer? I approach photography with an artist’s’ sensibility, creating pictorial images in the studio.

That is more aliened with those images of Edward Steichen, Anne Brigman and Alfred Stieglitz in nature. My philosophy is expressed well by John Szarkowski, who was a photographer, curator, historian and critic. From 1962 to 1991 Szarkowski was the director of photography at New York's Museum of Modern Art.

He believed that the photographs could be seen either as “mirrors,” which he described as being an expression of the photographer’s sensibilities or “windows through which the exterior world is explored in all its presence and reality.”

The “mirror” strategy, to which I subscribe, focuses on selfexpressive photography more that the “window” element in which photographers like Diane Arbus and Garry Winogrand leave their comfort zone to explore the external world.

Sail Away

What kind of equipment do you use? What’s your process? I photograph with a Fuji X100s digital camera with a fixed 50mm lens. The beauty of this camera is that it emulates a film camera with its exposure controls. The Fuji X100s is intuitive to use which lends itself to preconceived image making. Also I tend to shoot only 36 images in each session; also replicating shooting with film. In setting up the studio, I have a

variety of hand painted backdrops to choose from. The backdrop sets the stage for the photo shoot; which also provides the painterly element to the final image.

Whether I am photographing animal skulls, antique books or fruit in a larder box, the lighting is the star. Once the still life is composed; all studio lights are turned off. The camera is set for a long time exposure, usually eight to12 seconds. With only a LED

flashlight in hand, I trip the shutter and begin to bathe the scene with this singular light source. The result has a painterly quality that softens the objects and gives a mysterious atmosphere to the overall piece.

What kinds of concepts and inspirations are woven into your work? My method of working is intuitive. I will collect objects that I am attracted to that look as if they have a history or a back-story. Organic elements such as branches, vines and flowers are also vast source of inspiration. Often with a personal story or memory in mind, I will just begin to assemble the still life in a way that speaks to me.

Collection from a Morning Walk

Memories of my time in Japan as a visiting artist have been a great source of inspiration. It is amazing to me to start a photographic project with vague notions of what I am creating, to end with a beautiful image that captures the emotions and memories of sitting on the banks of the Kamo River in Kyoto under the light of the full moon.

Why large scale? Not all, but most of my photographs are printed 16” x 20” or larger. In keeping with the pictorial approach to

photography, I present the images as paintings, relatively large, printed on canvas, with heavy wooden frames.

I believe there is a preconceived notion of what a photograph is and should be. I like to challenge that notion. To expand the thinking of what is considered a photograph harkens back to origins of the history of photography.

Since the generally accepted definition of photography is the method of recording the image of an object through the action of light, derived from the Greek photos (“light”) and graphein (“to draw”), my photographs are the result of drawing with light.

Oranges

J. D. Hayward

J.D. Hayward, born 1949, has been shooting photographs since 1969 and has worked out of his downtown Pensacola studio since the late 1990s.

Early on, his commercial portrait style was influenced by the renowned New York photographers Richard Avedon and Irving Penn, who specialized in black and white fashion photography. As he began experimenting with personal landscape work, he developed a surrealistic style influenced by artist Rene Magritte.

Eventually, he began combining multiple negatives into a single print, creating complex images that art critic James Nelson characterized as "charming, witty, sometimes amusing and always provocative." Hayward's work is represented in numerous museum and private collections and was presented by the Florida Division of Cultural Affairs at a oneman show in the Governor's Gallery at the capitol. Amherst Media of New York published a book titled "Dramatic Black and White Photograph," a collection of Hayward's work.

Moon Tracks

What attracts you to black and white photography? When you look at a color photograph, the eye is attracted the pigments, or simply stated, the color. In a black and white photograph, you are forced to truly look at the image itself.

Your portraits have a lot of texture and seem to tell a story; how do you bring this out of your subjects?

For the studio work, I thank the customer for making an appointment, and then ask "What made you choose our studio?" As we begin to talk, the subject generally becomes comfortable in front of the camera, and I am able to create a portrait that reflects who the person is rather than a staged portrait.

Your photo montage work is very different from your portraiture. How do you develop those concepts and compositions?

In portrait work, I'm doing my best to present the person in the most flattering light and composition possible. My photo montages reflect ideas and concepts that pop into my head. I've been told that my surreal whimsical landscapes come across with such conviction that the viewer often begins to doubt reality—or the sanity of the photographer.

What are you currently working on? I'm currently working on new group of executive portraits for Pensacola Christian College.

Where can people see your work? My work can be seen at my studio downtown, 120 South Baylen Street, by appointment, 438-0416.

Plantation Bedroom

Jafee

Jeff Waldorff

I believe a great photo captures a moment that transcends the sum of its technical elements. It can have a mood that evokes an emotion of peace and tranquility or excitement and exhilaration. It doesn’t have to tell a story in a narrative way; it doesn’t have to have animals or people or be taken in some exotic location. A great photo can convey a moment in time in such a way that puts the viewer in the present of that moment much like a good book can take a person to places they've never been to before. Or, it may be that one photo out of a thousand that captures a moment of heightened tension between hunter and prey. I believe it is the challenge of searching, capturing and processing a great photo which is the art of photography.

Describe your work or style: Nature landscape and wildlife photography.

What kind of equipment do you use? What’s your process? Digital? Analog? Why? A Canon 5D Mark IV, a large assortment of lenses and a Gitzo tripod. I currently shoot digital because of the many advantages over film (i.e. image quality, cost, weight and convenience).

How did you go from engineer to photographer? After 20 years working in the engineering field, I decided to take up photography as a hobby. I soon discovered the creative potential that digital photography offered and combined my new-found skills with my passion for nature. Ten years later I retired from my "regular" job as an engineer to become a fulltime nature photographer.

What draws you to shoot landscapes and wildlife? As a child, I was fascinated by nature and the native wildlife of NW Florida where I spent most of my time outside chasing bugs and lizards. I've always felt that closeness with nature that I use for inspiration when seeking and taking my photos.

What is your most unique story about photographing outdoors or photographing wildlife? While photographing Navarre Beach one morning, I almost stepped on a ghost crab where he appeared to be napping…or daydreaming. I got on my stomach to take some photos when he suddenly jumped up. With my camera only inches from him, he rushed at my lens cover and grabbed it with no intentions of letting go! Fortunately, he didn’t get my finger! Eventually he settled down so I spent a few moments taking his picture and then we both went our separate ways.

What is it about the Gulf Coast specifically that draws you to photograph it?

I was born in Fort Walton Beach and the Emerald Coast is my home and the only place I want to be. I enjoy finding and photographing the hidden natural beauty that others may have overlooked.