Thank you all for your support this past weekend! Great weekend even with all the snow.  I enjoyed the good conversations and meeting new faces. 

It was -11 when I woke up.  Today’s high is 10 degrees.  Stay safe and warm!

For event page and tickets click here.

These were taken at Gilmore Car Museum during the DM7: Deutsche Marques event. 

Here are some of their works from the week.

Still Life Photography

Scavenger hunt finds

Abstract Photography

To achieve this, I used a tripod.  I was set at f10, ISO 100 and the shutter speeds varied.  I manually focused the lens to infinity. 

Does your pet love to run or swim?  Maybe your pet just likes to lay on its back in the sun.  Show off your pets personality with an updated portrait.  

The image below is from this weekend.  Next year this photo will be in our hands.

Whether you are dating, engaged, newly married or been married for several years, it's never to late to start this or something similar with your entire family.  You can send me a message here to discuss keeping your photographs updated on the walls.  I look forward to talking with you.

A screenshot from the app. 

The smile is found, the green icon is a geocache I have yet to locate.  The app has a compass to help navigate with a description and a hint if you need it.

Some of the areas I walked through on my treasure hunt.

The geocache I found.  Each time I have found a geocache the container is different and so is the item inside.

Brought my puppy with me.  Her first time on a nature walk. Kodak's bark scares away the wild life I try to photograph.  We will work on that. 

Download the app and try it out.  It's a great way to adventure.  I'd love to see your finds.

These images will soon be available for purchase on my Etsy shop. 

Fort Custer National Cemetery Augusta, MI

My fathers flag. 

Avenue of Flags

   See Kodak Run!  Ready, set, jump! Hi five!

Fill out the contact form to get more details on your next fur-baby portrait. 

Click here to see the video of the process of planting the tulips from their website.

The way the memory works inspired many of my projects during school.  Below is my Artist statement.

Re:Construct

Memory is one of the most essential bodily functions. Individuals who lose the ability to recall history, culture, personal life experiences or even how to function in society on a daily basis suffer with personal identity challenges.  Memories fade and become difficult to access overtime; they are altered with each recollection or are forgotten completely. 

Inspired by my desire to hold onto my past with my father whom I can no longer create new memories with, I experimented with in camera techniques to illustrate the confusion, disorientation, alterations, fading and lack of information that come along with the process of recalling.  My subject matter comes from locations or objects in which I explored in some matter with my father.  I faintly overlaid images from past experiences to illustrate how it once was compared to how little and strenuous it has become to recall these experiences when revisiting the same situation.

Originating from a coping journal, the titles enhance the understanding of the pleasure and sadness caused by struggling to remember something from the past and wishing that it could be experienced again.

The exhibition, Re:Construct at The DeVries Student Gallery, Western Michigan University. 

Title: Embrace the cycle, memories fade into dreams.

Title: It’s all a blur, like peering into water or looking through dense fog.

Title: Memories are irreplaceable but they will disappear.

Title: With each recollection the departed remains with me.

Title: Until I fear there is nothing, nothing more to hold onto.

The reception and some of my beloved supporters. 

Proud Mom!

Stay tuned for updates on my new work.

My name is Gwen and I live in Kalamazoo, MI.  Spending time with family means everything to me.  I come from a fun, loving, supportive, sarcastic family.  I married my husband June 24, 2017.   He is every bit of fun, loving, supportive and sarcastic I could have asked for. 

I enjoy cooking and love the outdoors.  I enjoy kayaking, nature walks, disc golf, skiing and geocaching. 

While I do not have an interest in living in a busy city I sure do love to explore and enjoy the culture of different cities. 

As a child I loved the arts.  For good grades, I asked my parents for sketch books, painting tools, and of course photo albums to store my photographs.  After school I didn’t play sports, I drew in my sketch book.  Like my dad, at family events I’m always the one behind the camera.

My first photography class was at Kalamazoo Valley Community College in the darkroom. At first, I was upset that I couldn’t jump right into digital photography. I thought I was losing my way of creativity but it was just the opposite.  After I started the class I loved the darkroom.  The element of surprise was so much fun, it added that sense of adventure to what I was doing.  I truly wish I had more time to spend in the darkroom.

During my bachelor degree I exhibited my art at the Grand Rapids Art Prize and several times at Western Michigan University.  I graduated from WMU in 2015 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Photography and Intermedia. 

Today I enjoy photographing many different things.  I use photography as a means of expression and communication.  In my free time, I enjoy experimenting in the studio and meandering off to photograph.  My passion is in lifestyle photography.  I love the art of capturing life’s milestones in a candid manner.  I shoot mostly on location to tell stories about people’s lives in a setting that fits their personality.

Recently I launched my Etsy shop where I will be selling my prints.  Click here to stop by and check it out.  Thank you for your continued support.  For those of you I have not met yet I look forward to meeting you.

PhotogramsPhotograms from a few years ago. PhotogramsPhotograms from a few years ago.

These photograms sparked my interest in camera-less photography again, so I decided to experiment with scanner photography. Here is my first go at it.  I used a sheet of transparency film for copiers to protect my scanner.  All images were captured with the scanner bed open.

First try with the scanner.  This was done with flower bed marbles and the lights off.

Then I experimented with food. Here is my set up.  I was in a closet.  

The set up. The set up.  

The images with a black background are produced in the dark.  The images with the white background are captured with a large led closet light on. 

I loved this.  More experimenting to come.  Have you ever used your scanner to create art? Did you enjoy it?