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With her own unwitting and modern take on the Pictorialist movement of the early 20th century (a theory that photography, as art, must echo the paintings of the period, and most often done with soft focus, special filters, and lens coatings, along with heavy manipulation in the darkroom), Watson’s images focus heavily--yet softly--on the intangible elements of mood and atmosphere, figuring most prominently in her work with infrared filters and her Wacom graphics tablet. Though she says she is still only at the beginning of her photographic journey, her interest in the visual arts developed when she was a child. “I clearly remember winning an art contest when I was about 7 years old. We had to draw a picture of what we wanted to be when we grew up, and I drew a picture of a teacher. I still remember how proud I was to see my drawing hanging up with a blue ribbon and on display at the local fairgrounds.” While she continued to do well in her art classes throughout school, experimenting with acrylics and the popular bold colors of the 70s, it wasn’t until high school that she received her first camera, a Kodak 110 point-and-shoot, as a gift from her parents. Wild Abandon
It was on a trip to Hawaii that her first reasonably expensive Pentax film camera was stolen, and it was as if she had had her leg amputated. But never one to be discouraged, she eventually bought herself a digital Sony F-707: “Armed with instant feedback from a digital camera and a new-found freedom to shoot with wild abandon, I began to experiment with different subjects and different approaches to composition. Enjoying the results of my experiments, I started to devote a large portion of my free time to learning and studying photography by poring through books and articles on the internet. My growing interest and passion for photography allowed much of my creativity to ‘come out of storage’ and make a grand appearance. There was no turning back—I was hooked.”
While digital is Watson’s preference, she will occasionally shoot some film. “I haven’t been able to reproduce the lovely look of Velvia slide film from my digital camera/darkroom—at least not yet,” she says. “But even when I shoot film, the developed negatives are instantly scanned into digital images so I can work on them in Adobe Photoshop.” Her primary digital weapon of choice is her Nikon D70 with Nikkor 18-70mm and Sigma 28-300mm lenses, but for her digital infrared work, she exclusively uses the Sony F-717 (in Nightshot mode) along with Hoya R72 and ND8 filters. Into the Unknown “For me, photography is not just a mechanical medium that simply reproduces a scene and ends with the click of the shutter,” says Watson. “It’s only the beginning of a process of discovering untapped potential. I like to start with a photograph that may be considered nicely composed and exposed. After examining the result, my imagination sets sail and conjures up a vision of something I’d like to explore with that image. I then make changes to see if it will yield better results. Sometimes it’s just a change in angle, lens, or lens filter, other times it’s changes I make in the digital darkroom. If I was a photographer 80 years ago, prior to the digital age, there’s no doubt that I’d have dabbled in emulsions and pigments, manipulated negatives and played with platinum printing. It’s this very reason that I got hooked on digital infrared. I enjoy seeing how invisible light spectrums reveal themselves and how it can make the mood of a scene change from ordinary to surreal.”
“I’m an explorer by nature,” explains Watson, on what keeps her creative juices flowing. “This is a theme that appears constantly in my personality. I get excited at the prospect of discovering new worlds, people, ideas, techniques, and approaches. The list of places I want to see and the list of different aspects of photography I want to try is huge and only getting longer. Photography and travel have become important mediums for my natural tendency to explore. I can’t see myself ever tiring of either of these passions, and will continue doing both until I’m physically incapable. And when that day comes, I’ll be able to travel vicariously by reviewing the tomes of photographic images I plan to shoot and accumulate. My current goal is to retire from corporate life while I’m still young and to get involved in photography full-time, working on commissioned and special interest projects, teaching workshops, and traveling.”
Favorite Shot
Words To Live By Watson’s advice: “Surround yourself with other photographers as well as artists that work in other mediums, such as sculptors, painters, writers, poets, musicians, designers and architects. Join communities like Photoworkshop.com. Attend lectures and openings at galleries. You'll discover that artists are very supportive of each other. These people will become your friends, your teachers, and your muse.” © Copyright 2002 by Photoworkshop.com |
