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You can order prints of Kelly's work here. |
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NYFalls.com Lead Editor since 2008 |
| About me: Born and raised in Western New York’s tiny hamlet of York, now living in Henrietta, I don’t find myself longing to live anywhere else. Each time I travel for work or play, I miss the absolute perfection of beauty that surrounds me here in my little corner of the world! Following graduation from St. John Fisher College in 1982, I began work for A.C. Nielsen, a job that took me to Illinois, North Dakota, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania and finally back home to New York. I was doing a job I hated, so being back in my “homeland” at least made the work bearable. Education-wise, I had always wanted to study pharmacy – but through a class in high school, got sidetracked into going the business route in college. The psychology involved in the whole marketing process intrigued me…..Why do people buy? When do people buy? How easy is it to convince people to buy something they don’t need? All too easy – just look at the pickle many people are in today! And so the story continues. I married my best friend. Worked a while longer, and then hung my business suit on a hanger for the next 20 years as I devoted my time to raising our 2 boys, now 20 and 15. A camera was simply a tool I used to document their growth. The art of photography never entered my mind. Fast forward to 2003. My parents were about to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. We wanted to give them a family portrait of their children and grandchildren. I offered to set up my brand spankin’ new digital camera to get some shots we might use and frame. I had even bought a photo printer! I was won over by the instant feedback I got with the camera, and started photographing my flower gardens just for fun! Stranded at home one day while my car was in the shop, with a friend’s imminent birthday looming, I needed a card but had no way to get to the store, so…..I moseyed out to the garden and photographed some mums, added the words “Happy Birthday” on the computer, printed the photo, attached it to a blank card, and sent it off. Since procrastination is just part of who I am, this happened several more times and before I knew it, people were asking to buy my creations! The Garden Path was born. I started by testing the market, doing small craft shows – then bigger shows; my goal all the while was getting my work into shops so I could stop lugging tables and props around weekend after weekend! The offers came in. The customers returned for more and soon I was devoting nearly all of my free time to the new venture! My work is now selling in 3 local shops and to out-of-towners via my website: http://www.freewebs.com/thegardenpathphotography/. When I had to start turning offers down, I realized my hobby had turned into something much larger than I ever anticipated. My interest in marketing had come full circle, but now I had the opportunity to combine a personal mix of passion and creativity to make it my own! My style and thoughts on
photography: I still find myself drawn to the simple – often unnoticed details in the world around me. Macro photography is my comfort zone. I want to photograph things as they are – not as they could be. I seek out shadows, repetition, patterns, objects that are old, worn or unusual, interesting lighting and odd angles when I’m looking for things to photograph. I don’t use flash – ever. Won’t do portraits of people or pets. And I’ve stopped apologizing for all of this. What camera or lens someone uses is of little importance to me. I am composition driven and I fully admit I’m a tough nut to crack - but if we photographers were all the same, we wouldn’t be able to call our work ‘art’ – nor would we have the chance to learn from each other. I’m still using a Canon point and shoot camera – and print everything on an Epson photo printer. A hearty thanks to Matt, founder of
the site, who invited me to learn, share and grow here
on NYFalls.com and now, to use some of my excess energy
for details in helping to edit its content. |
