Edward Steichen, another one of the biggest influences in my early career, was a painter and photographer. He was also very influenced by the fine art world, studying artists who came before him as well as artists who were his contemporaries. Steichen, part of the movement called Pictorialism, was instrumental in helping bring photography into the realm of “fine art” in the public eye. I am as inspired by his work today as I was when I first saw it in 1995. Steichen’s genius, his compositions and interpretations of portraits, is more apparent to me now that I have been doing this for 20 years myself. Steichen’s art books are amongst my favorites as I continue to learn from him and glean inspiration. I encourage you to become a student of art. The most common thing I hear after speaking to photographers is that they have forgotten and lost touch with an art world with which they were once so in love. I encourage you to start a new journey into art, or return to a path you once followed. Let's not lose the legacy that has been left for us. Find the artists that speak to you and study them. JuliAnne Jonker will be speaking at the April 2015 Canadian Imaging Conference in Niagara Falls. In her presentation “The Portrait as an Art-form” she will delve deeper into some of the masters both old and new that have influenced her style. www.conference.ppoc.ca
So to prevent any confusion, I decided to name it “Lady of the Lake” for print competition. As it turned out, the image was challenged and one of the judges brought up the PreRaphaelite era! Though it was not a copy of any certain painting, the influence of the Brotherhood came through. I thought it was awesome that even among PPA judges, at least one of them knew who the Pre-Raphaelites were! - 23 -