I have had a passion for
drawing since childhood and took up photography, or drawing
with light, in the early 1980s. I was living in New Mexico
at the time and thought photography would be a good
complement to my work as a journalist. It wasn’t long,
however, before I became hooked by the medium and by the
unique quality of light that has attracted generations of
artists to New Mexico. I took every photography course
available and studied the work of masters such as Edward
Weston, W. Eugene Smith, and Ansel Adams, who pioneered the
zone system as a way to achieve a full range of
photographic tonal values. Their work is a continuing
source of inspiration for my own images, in which I strive
to achieve maximum sharpness and tonal range.
Now back on the East Coast and living in a small New
England town, I continue to write and photograph, while
also pursuing my interest in watercolor and drawing. In the
way that so many things in life seem to come “full circle,”
I am also rediscovering lessons I learned many years ago as
a student of the noted illustrator John Groth at New York’s
Art Students League.
- Liz
Attebery
