Since the age of seven a camera
has been an integral part of my life. Through the lens I view, record and
understand the world around me. I have always been a visual person and
appreciate beauty everywhere and in everything. Photography allows me to totally
occupy and honor the present moment.
Sheri
I photograph across many genres
but have always had an affinity for portraiture because it’s an interdependent
and collaborative experience. There is a fundamental freshness, vulnerability
and openness about it that I love. It’s also freeing to find myself more
attached to the “dance” of it with the other person and less attached to the
outcome. With this in mind the outcome takes care of itself. Both my subjects
and I mutually surrender to the process of discovery during a session.
Sharon and
Strider
In this photograph of Sharon and
Strider the image does not fully reveal the interesting story within the story.
Sharon and I were in the woods doing a study of her when Strider, a local dog
unknown to us, appeared seemingly out of nowhere and in our frame. His size and
bigger-than-life presence frightened Sharon but as he relaxed and got
comfortable in our little space, so did she. It was a beautiful thing to
behold. She went from being tense and uneasy to totally letting go. It just
unfolded in front of me. They worked it out with each other and this image
transpired. Viewers often think it’s a portrait of a woman and her beloved dog.
Agnes
For
decades I processed and printed my own black and white film and prints. There’s
nothing quite like the aroma of Dektol to keep you happily absorbed and firmly
rooted making magic, hour upon hour, in the darkroom!
Then,
the emerging digital revolution hit hard and it was a very humbling experience.
It hijacked photography as I knew it. I felt like I was accomplished in the
medium and resented that I had to start all over again: new equipment, post
production programs and classes, lots of classes. It was like learning to speak
a new language. I was slow to embrace it but for the past 12 to 15 years I have
been exclusively a digital photographer.
Typically
I allow myself at least 35 to 50 exposures before I feel a session is anywhere
near complete. On occasion my favorite image is the first spontaneous photo
made in a study, as in this portrait of Paule. But sometimes it’s the last
photo, signaling the session has concluded.
Paule
I’ve
had formal training in both photography and video production and they each
inform the other in delicious ways. I am keenly aware of composition when
shooting video and have always loved the sense of motion in photographs. My
portraits sometimes feel like stills from a film, a small slice of the
continuum of my subjects’ lives. I often find the images that remain in my
mind’s eye after seeing a beautiful film are the faces, portraits that reveal
the inner world of the characters.
Mother and daughter
I
enjoyed a very rewarding 30 year career in K-12 public education with Fairfax
County Public Schools in Northern Virginia, just outside Washington, DC. The
years spent with my high school photojournalism students were some of my most rewarding. After retiring
I went on to work with individuals who were blind or had low vision. As an
Orientation and Mobility Instructor I taught safe and independent travel
skills to adults and children.
Brandon and Kristina
In
this photograph of Brandon and Kristina, I was touched by how totally present
they were in this moment, appreciating the warmth of the sun’s radiating energy
on their bodies and sidewalk. They are both totally blind. Vision is certainly
a sense associated with our eyes, but it’s also felt and perceived on many
differing pathways to the brain.
Thank you, Brenda Smoak, for featuring me in your stimulating Artists Tell Their Stories blog. I have found much inspiration in your weekly features.
My
photographic muses are many: Judy Dater, Imogene Cunningham, Emmit Gowin, Mary
Ellen Mark, Diane Arbus, Joyce Tenneson, Ruth Bernhard and so many others who
have come before.
Lin lives in Bradenton, Florida and can be reached through Facebook (Lin Oakerson) or Loakerson@verizon.net.
This is Week 28 of 52 Artists in 52 Weeks. Thank you for reading and sharing Lin's story today!
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