Shutter Sister interview: Alison Garnett

Every once in a while comes along an artist whose talent, visual sensitivity and spirit make you sigh with delight. Alison Garnett's creativity and sense of composition, color and light never cease to amaze me and are a constant source of inspiration.

Someone said about Alison that she's proving that "it is first and foremost "the eye" that captures wonderful images, not the equipment" and I think it's very true. Whatever camera she uses (Alison shoots with her Contax T3, Rolleicord, Holga, Diana, Leica and also owns several Polaroid cameras), she trademarks each of her photos with her unique way of capturing details and simple beauty in everyday life.

I had been wanting to interview her for a very long time. A few weeks ago, Alison kindly accepted to share some thoughts on photography with us and answered a few questions for Shutter Sisters.

1. What's the story behind this photo?

I started a series of images of my daughter several summers ago during our holiday time in northern Ontario. The images are incredibly sentimental to me and my hope is that she'll continue to model for me every year. This particular image is the first in the series. The only thought I had taking the image was to avoid the conventional style of photographing children. I wanted to capture her in a way that would have a deeper meaning to me. We had gone to the dock together early one morning to take a few images, and the idea came to me almost immediately. There she was with her teddy bear, still in her pajamas and anxious to get on with her day. I asked her to sit at the end of the dock, turn away from me and I composed the image and pressed the shutter. Simple as that.

2. What was it that lit your photography spark? Do you remember a particular camera, course, person, roll of film?

I do remember very clearly. I was on maternity leave with my first child and feeling frustrated about not having a creative outlet that could fit into my daily schedule. In an effort to continue to be creative, I purchased a Yashica Mat twins lens camera at a yard sale. With the help of a mother in my mum's group (a wonderful photographer herself), I learned how to properly load film in the camera, use a light meter, and operate the exposure controls. I carried the camera with me on stroller walks and to the part, pretty much anywhere I could take photos while my daughter was playing or napping. That was five years ago, the beginning of my addiction with camera and film.

3. Where do you look for inspiration?

Inspiration is everywhere I look: design magazines, photography books, the vast resources of the web, observing my children, conversations with my husband and friends. I also make time to visit small galleries in Toronto. I particularly enjoy seeing new work from emerging  photographers because I view their work without the biases or expectations I may carry with me when viewing the work of well-known photographers. I almost always come away with fresh new ideas to consider as I think about my own future projects.

4. What aspect of your photography are you constantly working on, trying to improve?

I feel the need to tell more stories with my photography. Looking back on the last five years, I see most of my pictures to be a series of snapshots. That's okay, but I think it's important to find a concept that links them all together somehow. I think by doing so the images become more compelling for me, and hopefully those who view my work.

I feel like the only work I've done so far that reflects any form of storytelling is my Polaroid diptychs. I love placing two images together, creating a dialogue that didn't exist until the two were joined. That's what I'll be doing from now on - creating dialogue - not just between two images, but a series of them. I believe by doing so I'll add the conceptual elements I feel were missing from my earlier work.

5. Are there women out there that you consider your shutter sisters? Who, and why?

Absolutely! Sally Mann and Loretta Lux are two that come to mind immediately. Both artists photograph children, however, I don't think that's the attraction for me. Their work is so incredibly wonderful and thought provoking that it makes me want to sell off all my cameras and never take another photo ever again! 

6. That's how I feel when I look at your photos Ali! Now, last question. Could you tell us more about 5 Good Things?

I started 5 Good Things when I was going through a difficult time in my personal life. I found it so tempting to vent about the tough times on my blog, but I find airing one's woes to be stagnating and maudlin. Instead, I took the opposite approach and developed the habit of giving thanks for five good things at the end of every day. I swear, by contemplating the good things I found it allowed me to take control of my life in a very positive way. I used to post 5 Good Things on Hello, but now moved them to a more personal blog about my family life - mebetweenyou.

Thank you Ali!

You can see more of Alison's work here and here.

Open to Questions

My partnership with photography has been a come as you are and ask as you go sort of thing. Ever since I got my first SLR handed down to me from my step-father to use for my very first (and pretty much only) photo class, I have had the pleasure of magically and mystically finding my way around the medium with minimal prodding or probing.

It wasn’t until I got a job with a photographer that I began to ask questions. But I only asked what I needed to know; small, easy to digest bits of information to get me by as I felt more comfortable using an intuitive, experimental approach to learning. Of course, it took me a while to be able to count on any consistency in what I was doing (because I really didn’t know what I was doing) but that didn’t stop me. That is, until I began to realize my limitations. My inability to recreate what I had created began to frustrate me. And only then did I begin to dig deep.

Not a lot has changed today. There are days, I feel like I’ve got enough dialed in to keep me satiated. Yet there are times when I see something in someone else’s images that I covet…a simple clipping of the corners, a rich border in a texture, a tint or hue that stirs something within me…and I find myself thinking, how do you do that? When I feel limited, I know it’s time to start asking the questions to get me past the hurdles I’m up against.

What about you? Are there ways you feel limited in your photographic work? Do you have any burning questions that you feel might help you crack some kind of code to help you push through some barrier that stands before you? Let’s make a pact and ask those questions, shall we? The Flickr Pool Discussion thread has been a great source for asking and answering. I am so impressed with your willingness to ask and answer. Let’s keep that chatter going. Maybe we can even bring some of those conversations over here. What do you think?

There’s an Omaha Proverb that says, ask questions from the heart and you will be answered from the heart. I think that has a nice ring to it .

Gearing Up

This weekend marks the start of the summer season in the northern hemisphere. Vacations, cook-outs, warmer weather, water-play…all make for some amazing pictures. Personally, I’m excited to try out my new camera, coupled with a Polaroid, on our voyage to the Outer Banks. It’s such a repetitive task to bring a camera with you on vacations. But when you sift through those treasures, it’s re-living life at its best: The first moment of building sandcastles, the discovery of sea-glass in the sand, the chasing of ghost crabs, the climbing of stairs in lighthouses. All captured in an instance. Never to be repeated the same way again.

How will you play out these moments?

Will you take the same old pictures of the landscape and buildings? Not that those are boring, mind you. But think of this as a challenge for you to do something different…a different perspective of a great memory that you can look back on and relish. The colors of the area, the locals, your children’s hands and feet constructing, or searching for that most perfect shell. The way the sunlight glowed at sunset in the face of your loved one, or, the first cup of coffee in the morning, wrapped in a blanket, watching the sunrise.

So Sisters, make it a goal to do something different with your shots this season. And of course, please, please, share those ideas and pictures here. I’m leaving next week and need all the inspiration I can get, to capture the tiniest of moments!

Photo and post courtesy of today's Honorary Sister/Guest Blogger Jen Way (aka Beebee Mod).

through the looking glass

ALICE

she ate from a plate called EAT ME
and she grew up so tall.
she drank from a cup called DRINK ME
and down she shrank so small.

and so she changed
while other folk
never tried nothin' at all.

Shel Silverstein

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 

Got any photos that demand accompaniment--a poem, song lyrics, a quotation from some long-passed soul?

Priceless

Cardstock to make cards from scratch: $5

Colored pencils, pens and stickers to decorate cards: $15

Postage to overnight the cards to the messenger: $45

A chance to send hope notes to the girls of Rwanda: priceless

As many of you know, our lovely Jen is leaving to take her sweet self, her zines, blank journals, pens, hearts, these handwritten hope notes and a film to share with the girls of Rwanda. Girls who need encouragement and support more than we can ever imagine.

For those of us who remain here while Jen single handedly delivers these messages (indeed, she is a superhero of hope), the photos and videos that she captures over there will be the only way we can truly share the trip with her. But beyond that, her photographs will serve as the only recent record that one mother has of her daughters. Imagine how it would feel to see a photo of your child after 2 years of not seeing any. Two years. And then comes a day when a rare and beautiful gift is handed to you through one photograph. A single image that would surely take any mother’s breath away.

Simple truths like this remind me that when we hold our cameras, we hold incredible power. How lucky are we to shoot photo after photo of our own children, of friends and family. Each image a gift. A gift that is indeed priceless.

As we send our sister off on the journey of a lifetime, let’s honor her with links to our own priceless photographs, shall we? It’ll be our little way of showing her our Shutter Sisters support.

Safe travels Jen, we will all be eagerly awaiting stories and photos. Lots and lots of glorious, priceless photos.