Portrait of a Human:
The Photographic Journal
Isabel Owen
“You don't make a photograph just with a camera. You bring to the act of photography all the pictures you have seen, the books you have read, the music you have heard, the people you have loved.”
What is photography but a muse for the visually-spirited, a vessel for those whose eyes see more than colors and lines in an image? Since a young age, the artist takes a drink from the Earth by indulging in the multitude of etheral spirits that pulse through the planet. The spirit of the photo shows the heart of the artist, and if taken with inspiration, the raw and bubbling core of humanity.
The photograher has not a job; but a simple mission. She captures whatever captures her. The moment is her guidance, and the photo one of her commandments. Each photo is a building block, and one by one, builds up her universe. A universe that can only be controlled in only one way: with the capture of its fleeting and infinite beauty.
Portrait of a Photographer
For as long as I can remember, art has been an integral part of my life. Since a young age, the pursuit of beauty has set my schema: an innevitable and wonderfully unavoidable drive to create art.
This drive manifested itself in photography, when at the age of 11, after moving across the Atlantic Coast from South Florida to Long Island, I took a darkroom class. This class gave me a new sense of identity and comfort when I needed it most. Sooner than I thought, photography became my muse.
My goal as a photographer is to capture the ethereal nature of our lives; the lithe ebb and flow that many times passes under our noses. To me, mindfullness of this beauty is integral to happiness. I am happy if even sometimes I am able to appreciate this wonder that the universe has to offer. Photography helps this.
My photos, which my English teacher has called "dreamy", have that feeling. They are colorful, rich, and simple --- and this is how life looks like though my eyes. I hope that looking at life through my lens will allow you to understand how I view this world.
-Isabel Owen