Art Exhibit: Photography by Audrey Hamilton - November-December 2023

Audrey captures images in nature in a unique way: lovely blurred backgrounds, detailed surroundings from a long distance, and compositions that create a certain feeling or story.  She shows images that cause the viewer to ponder what is hidden in the shadows.

“I am from Ithaca, NY and have lived in Cazenovia for 4 years. For the last 5 years I have been exploring the medium of digital photography. Many different factors have shaped me as an artist such as the grief of my Mom’s passing in 2015 and 13 years as a Ballet dancer. There is also a direct correlation between my love of suspense and puzzles, and my images of reflections in windows and water. I enjoy creating images that cause the viewer to ponder what is hidden in the shadows. Along with these, Trees and leaves are a favorite subject of mine. I find the gnarled roots and twisting branches almost hypnotizing.

I consider my photography artistic and strive to capture images which are unique. The first steps in photographing are the technical ones.  I continually adjust exposure, amount of flash, depth of field and composition in order to create a certain feeling or story.   Often, I take the image more than once, with different settings which gives me more options to work with when it comes to editing.   I also choose a specific lens for certain subjects.   Some – such as a macro lens – is for a small object from a short distance away; which creates a lovely blurred background. Another lens,  captures more detailed surroundings from a longer distance away – such as landscapes.

The editing process  is another aspect of my art as a photographer and this is where I feel more creative, although it is important to me to maintain natural looking images.  For the past 2 years; I have been experimenting with Photoshop and Bridge software.  There are so many things to do with editing.  For a basic edit, I might: increase or decrease contrasting textures;  increase shadows;  intensify original colors – in order to inspire a certain mood or add to a color scheme; remove objects; or play with lighting in certain areas I wish to draw attention to.“

Exhibiting at the New Woodstock Free Library. 2106 Main Street, New Woodstock, NY

Follow Audrey on her Instagram channel; @ahphotography_cazenovia or visit her website to view her work and read more about her photography.