Are you an artist, arts organization or venue?

artist

What town do you live in?

Greenfield, MA

In which disciplines do you work or exhibit?

Photography

Artist Statement/Bio

All my life, I have been fascinated by people. Nothing has ever interested me more than humanity — the way we interact, our faults and flaws, our insecurities, the elusive things which make us tick. There is a beauty and nobility to the human race, and while we are prone to insecurity and imperfection, I truly believe that as long as we strive to be better than our faults, we are beautiful.

I believe anyone can be gorgeous. Through writing in my earlier years, and now through photography, my goal has always been to unlock the three-dimensional beauty of a human personality-- to seek first to understand, then to be understood. I want to get to know a subject, latch onto something undeniably compelling and real, and communicate that through a portrait. Sometimes that's best achieved through a truly natural background; sometimes, the best way to showcase someone's spirit is through an elaborate and sometimes surreal setup. Regardless, the intended result is a moment of truth. Whether the mood is ironic or quiet or raucous, the portrait must communicate some facet of the subject to the viewer, or the portrait was a waste of time to create.

Photographs are all about frozen moments in time, about capturing every detail in a scene without losing the spirit of the subject. My goal is to take the sort of picture that someone can look back on years from now and think, At this moment, I was happy. I was innocent. I was in love.

At this moment, I was beautiful.

Website

http://www.elizabethshoemaker.com/