Photos to Inspire: C.J. Groth

From Photoworkshop.com

Photos to Inspire
Photos to Inspire: C.J. Groth
By Lynne Eodice
Jun 15, 2008

CLICK HERE TO SEE A GALLERY OF C.J. GROTH'S IMAGES

All images © C.J. Groth

C.J. Groth is a very prolific photographer—and Photoworkshop.com member—who sells her fine-art prints at a co-op gallery in Key West, Florida. She also licenses her work for book covers, brochures, posters and other commercial uses.

Proud Pelican

“I feel so fortunate to be able to make a living selling and licensing my fine-art images,” says C.J. (Connie) Groth. She began her photographic journey in college, when she was required to take photojournalism as part of her journalism curriculum. Her first course in black-and-white photography led to many other college photo classes.

At Higgs Beach, Key West, Florida

Eventually, she became the editor of a small magazine, in which Groth did nearly everything—editing, writing, layout and design. She discovered that she especially enjoyed the layout and design part of the job. “I learned a lot about balance and form, dark and light, and how eyes move across the page. I think this really influenced what I call the architecture of my photographs.” She later earned an MBA degree, and for the next 20 years, she worked in marketing and business management for companies like Borg Warner and General Electric.

During the mid-90s, Groth started taking photo classes at the local college in Key West, Florida, and people urged her to try to sell her work because it was so good. She took their advice, and began renting space at an artists’ co-op called Guild Hall Gallery in Key West. “Within a few months,” she says, “I realized that I could make a living doing this.” She quit her “real job,” and has been selling her fine-art photography ever since. Because Key West is a popular travel destination, there’s a lot of foot traffic. Groth has also amassed a large group of collectors over the years, who return to the gallery to purchase her new work. “I’m a very prolific photographer,” she states, “and I like to make new pictures all the time.” Her work is very reasonably priced, and she sells thousands of her fine-art images on a regular basis. “It’s so fun for me to think that all these people have a piece of my art in their house, and that I can make a living doing this.” She has about 500 images on display at Guild Hall, and she licenses her work for book covers, brochures, posters and other commercial uses.

Palm Dance II

When asked about her favorite subjects, Groth says that above all, she looks for beautiful light. “For me, seeing that magical light that converges with an interesting subject is an amazing thing,” she says. She concentrates primarily on two geographic locations—Florida, especially Key West, and Cuba. She shoots mainly outdoors—scenics, landscapes, architecture, celebrations, flowers and close-ups—in natural lighting conditions. “I photograph whatever strikes me at the moment,” she comments. “I utilize natural light not in a prettified way, but in an evocative manner.” Groth says that although she lives on a beautiful island, she tries to avoid shooting clichés. Her style is lush and painterly. She also has a group of images that make people laugh, including “The Eternal Optimist,” which features a group of blackbelly rosefish with one that appears to smile.

Groth has been very busy this year with several gallery shows, which include a solo exhibit at Gallery 007 in March. She has also recently finished an exhibition entitled “New Pictures of Old Town” at Guild Hall, and won first place in photography at a mixed media exhibition at another Key West gallery.

She plans to spend the next few months in Greenwich, Connecticut, a location she’ll use as a base to build a portfolio of New England and New York images for both sale and licensing. She says that she would also like to do a series of composite images in Photoshop. “I’ve been taking a lot of pictures of doors, windows, and reflective buildings,” she says. “My thought is to composite different images into those base images to challenge the viewers’ sense of space and reality.” She adds that she’d like to do a documentary project, as she’s never done one before. As for inspiration, Groth says, “I’m just waiting for something to strike me; I’ll know it when I see it.” She’s open to ideas for her documentary project, and encourages people to email her at cj@keywestphotos.com

The Eternal Optimist

How has her membership in Photoworkshop.com benefited her? “I live my life both as a student and a teacher,” she comments. “I’m always taking classes, and I’ve taught at the university level.” She advises some members at Photoworkshop.com on technical skills, but says that she looks to other people for artistic inspiration and digital techniques. She has also gotten a lot of great feedback from other members on her images in the Bio & Visual Exchange, as well as her gallery pages. “I’m also a pretty active Weekly Assignment participant,” she points out. “It’s so interesting to me, because I love to take 0a subject and see everybody’s visual interpretation of it.” Groth says that she very much enjoys the community that Photoworkshop.com provides, especially being an artist that works alone. “I really feel as though I know some of these people, even though we’ve never met in person.”

She says she really enjoys working in the digital darkroom, and uses Photoshop to put the finishing touches on her images. “For me, it’s not just taking a picture, it’s making a picture.” Groth says that people tend to consider her as a colorist. “I often alter color. Most people change color by adding it, but I change things by taking some away and leaving some.” She is always learning new techniques, and takes online tutorials. “Digital is an ongoing learning experience.”

In conclusion, she states, “I just want people to know that photography has become a very significant part of my life—and my photo career has been a wonderful gift to me at this time in my life.”

C.J. Groth Equipment List

Cameras
Canon EOS 40D SLR
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ50

Lenses
Canon 28-135mm f /3.5-5.6 IS
Canon zoom 75-300mm f /4-5.6 IS
Canon 50mm f/2.5 macro

Tripod
Gitzo G1228LVL carbon-fiber leveling tripod
Manfrotto 488RC4 Ballhead

Computers and printer
Macbook Pro 15" Laptop
iMac G5 Desktop
Power Mac G4 dual processor tower
Wacom Intuos 2 Graphics Tablet
Epson 3800 archival printer

View more of C.J. Groth’s work at http://cjgroth.photoworkshop.com/

CLICK HERE TO SEE A GALLERY OF C.J. GROTH'S IMAGES