Light. That was the first thing that caught my eye when I held my first camera. Even then, at 12 years old, I was pulled into photography by the nuances of light, and how it changed the features of the landscape around me. I was enamored by the view of the world through my lens--that attraction pulled me into photography.
I began my career as a commercial photographer in the early 1970s, in my 20s, and was drawn to study the effects of light and focused on honing illumination techniques--whether in the studio, outside on location, and for hours alone at night inside the darkroom. To me, photography has always been both an art and a science.
When my son was born in 1993, I took a break from my photographic career to focus on something that was - and still is - my most important role: being a mother. I began seeing the world through new eyes again. I took my camera everywhere – capturing moment after moment of his childhood from baby to little boy. As he grew up, I started shooting landscapes again. Fortunate to be in a town full of artists and galleries, I began exhibiting my new work locally.
Then, in March 2011, my life as a photographer changed forever. Star-gazing on a very clear, dark moonless night over a nearby Atlantic beach with my spouse and a few friends, I took a few shots, curious about what I’d see in the dark. I posted one of the pictures on Facebook, and within minutes a renowned Provincetown gallery owner clicked “Like” and commented, “do you have any more of those?” I've been working the "Night Shift" ever since.
Here's that first shot, Star Car, taken near Truro's Highland Light in the Cape Cod National Seashore: