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Photographer Spotlight: Alison Thomas
Welcome to the Photographer Spotlight, a monthly article where I take a few minutes to introduce a deserving photographer and their work. Most of you that have followed this feature of Photo Trek have seen spotlights on those just starting out in photography, those that are reasonably well established, and just about everything in between. I look forward to this part of the month because I get to talk about someone other than myself for a bit. Allow me to introduce Alison Thomas of Serenity Scenes.
Baby Soft Photo Copyright © Alison Thomas
As you can tell, Alison enjoys photographing birds, or in this case a particularly fuzzy duckling. In fact, she enjoys photographing wildlife of all kinds around her Deltona, FL, home. So what path has led her to this point in her life? In the case of many photographers, it was a dream that developed into a passion, and eventually a way of life.
Alison's dream didn't start in her childhood as so many of my spotlight subject's have. It was 1979 when she relocated with her husband to a small town in New Hampshire. She found herself "in a strange, but beautiful place with a lot of time on [her] hands." It was around this time that she found that she had accidentally packed her sister's old Petri Rangefinder camera. Coincidence, or fate?.....hmmmm. Sometimes fate needs a bit of help, which came in the form of an advertisement for the Time Life Photography Series. With the arrival of her first book, she purchased a roll of black and white film for the camera.
This is where her dream got started. After taking some pictures with her "questionably acquired" camera (It's the cop in me talking here), the bug was firmly in place. The nice thing about black and white film is you can easily develop it at home...and that's just what she did after taking a course on the subject. I'll give her credit for ingenuity here, she turned a walk-in closet in their apartment into a darkroom. I think at this point her sister had given up on ever getting the camera back.
Alison sold a few of her pictures and eventually had a show at the local library. It was at this point she was hooked on photography, and was all set to pursue her dream. Ahhh, if it were only that simple. At this critical point, her husband was transferred back to Washington, DC, and Alison had to get a "real job". The need for her employment pushed her primary interest in photography to a back burner.
Ironically, after making all of these life altering changes, she and her husband got a divorce. The job that Alison had started quickly turned into a career. Even though her dreams were getting pushed further and further away, she still made time for her passion. She was still taking pictures, and even did a couple of small art shows. While I'm sure this was not fulfilling, she was keeping her skills sharp, waiting for the time when she could once again focus on her art.
Reflection Photo Copyright © Alison Thomas
In 2000, Alison and her current husband moved to Florida where she was able to rediscover her love for photography. She was no longer set up to do her own developing and she found that her biggest problem was trying to find a lab that produced consistent results. Her choice came down to purchasing expensive equipment, or going digital. She chose digital and has "never looked back." Alison enjoys the complete control from start to finish. Other than taking some short classes and workshops, she is mostly self taught. By 2003 she was finally doing her first real art show.
For the gear nuts out there, Alison currently shoots Nikon equipment. A D200 with an 80mm-400mm lens, and a D70 with an 18mm-70mm lens work together to create her images. Her darkroom has been replaced with a Dell laptop and two Epson printers.
Mendenhal Glacier Photo Copyright © Alison Thomas
While Alison didn't have any specific influences to spark her photographic interests, she did credit a delay in getting some much needed glasses as being a reason she enjoys photography as she does. Her poor eyesight taught her to see in a different way, which plays a part in her present day style (with corrected vision). Her love of the outdoors was cultivated while she was in the Girl Scouts. She found the outdoors to be a place of calm and peace, which she strives to capture with her camera.
Alison's goals as a photographer are noble. She wants to use her talents to further the conservation efforts in some way. She would also like to supplement her retirement with her talents. Ultimately, she would like to have a one woman gallery show. She strives to have a wilderness studio like Clyde Butcher, and to travel the US for a year in an RV taking pictures.
Recently, Alison has had the privilege of attending both the Winter Park Autumn Art Show and the Ocala Art Show. This is right on the heels of being awarded first place in the Ponce Inlet Art Show for one of her photographs. This is all great news and is a great sign of having a very promising future as a photographer.
You can view Alison's photographs at her online gallery located at Serenity Scenes, or on her photoblog. Her images are for sale, so if you see something that you just must have in your home, you may contact her through the gallery. If you happen to live in Florida, Alison does different art shows around the state. You can view her schedule in the Upcoming Events page of her web site.
As a parting thought, Alison would like to share this advice to new photographers. "Aside from the usual 'take lots of pictures', if you're young, jump in and do it. If you wait too long you'll end up with a mortgage and car payments and people depending on you, and you'll end up squeezing it into available time."
I hope you have enjoyed this installment of the Photographer Spotlight. If you have any suggestions for future features, please contact me at NCPhotoTrekker@aol.com.
Written by Greg A. Kiser
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I enjoyed reading about Allison's launch into photography...very well written. Do you write for photo magazines? Thanks for sharing her photos here... they are beautiful. bea
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I checked out Alison's website. Happy work =). Thanks for spotlighting her, Greg! I love your spotlights! Hugs! xox
http://journals.aol.com/valphish/ThereisaSeason -
Greg thanks for bring her to our attention. Beautiful work :).
Betty -
Very very nice, her photos are lovely.
betsy
10/24/07 10:58 AM
Thanks for doing what you do, Alison.
Your friend, Tona.