I have some exciting new developments on the horizon here….and this post is just the beginning. For the last ten years I have been primarily a portrait photographer. I find it hard to limit myself to just one genre of subjects as many photographers do. I enjoy capturing families, children, brand new babies, teens and couples as well as weddings and events and yes, even (or especially) pets! But I have always been drawn to capture the beauty in everything I see…from relationships to the beautiful vistas God created in this amazing earth. I have always enjoyed taking landscape photos, even as a kid, but was often told – “why go through all that effort to take a photo of that mountain, or stream, or seascape – when you can just buy a postcard at the visitor’s center that will be far more beautiful.” True, to a point. But I wanted to capture the beauty that I saw, as I saw it, right then and there, to remember for always. So I honed my skills and took these photos primarily for myself…so I could remember all of the amazing and wonderful places I have been. But what I saw as only a personal passion became just a little bit more when I entered an image that I took on a family vacation to Zion’s National Park in the county fair and surprised myself by winning first place and a blue ribbon. And then I realized that perhaps maybe others could enjoy these images as well. So I began to rent special lenses and filters and took them on more and more trips, looking to capture unique perspectives on commonly photographed scenes.
I feel I should give some credit to my aunt and uncle Fae and Dennis van Uitert, who wholly ecouraged me in my pursuits, offering to take me to some of their favorite beautiful places and even getting me in when they won the lottery to the infamous “Wave formation” in the Vermillion Cliffs National Monument at Coyote Buttes. It was a killer of a hike, made in the blazing heat of a July in which three other people had already perished making the journey. But it was amazing to behold and worth every effort. One of the resulting images from that journey is featured in a photography exhibition in Salt Lake City’s Gallery Stroll at Alpine Art, located at 430 East South Temple, Salt Lake City, UT 84103. The piece is one of many photographs featured in the exhibition with the theme of, “Oh the Places We Go!” and is the featured photograph they have chosen to represent the exhibition in their promotional materials. You can read about the image and the exhibition in the City Weekly, their local social newspaper, which says,
“Above all, I craved to seize the whole essence, in the confines of one single photograph, of some situation that was in the process of unrolling itself before my eyes,” wrote Henri Cartier-Bresson. For photographers showing at Alpine Art’s exhibition Oh the Places We Go!, this show is about the journey, about the process—the emotional inspiration, obligatory for photographers in their explorations.
In these shots, there is something candid, something left undone and incomplete—and this is honest and beautiful.
“Bright Desert Sun” by Vanessa Kay (pictured) traverses a crevasse to reach her destination.
The divide could not be more red-hot, the sun could not shine brighter against a more azure sky in a scene more lucid.
The photo will be on display at their art gallery until Valentine’s day, February 14th. So I’d love if all my Utah peeps would head on over to check it out! Above is that image, framed and matted to a 30×40 wall hanging and on sale at the art gallery. Below are some other fun images taken during my recent trips to Southern Utah, most of which will be available as prints or digital images in their own website, hopefully soon!
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