Artist Statement

Florae

In flowers and plants I see life – the beauty of birth, living and death – the profound essence of creation and renewal.  I create these images not to document, but to create a unique connection with nature, while celebrating photography and the black and white print itself. 

There is a rich history of photographers of flowers.  My first recollection of photography as art is the botanical imagery of Imogen Cunningham.  Seeing an exhibit of her photographs years ago began my passion for black and white photography.

This series, Florae, takes the black and white print a step further.  It is produced using a large format camera with Polaroid black and white peel-apart film.  A technique of “solarization” is applied, giving the effect of a thin black line around the petals, leaves and stems. Just as in nature each plant is unique, each print has its individual look, the result of employing the somewhat unpredictable solarization technique.  The print is hand-processed on warm-tone silver gelatin French paper.