The short answer:
Just another stay at home mom with a camera. aka, very tired laundry doer.
The long version:
In my youth I thought being a war photographer would be an extraordinary, meaningful career (see The Bang Bang Club, 2010). I wanted to go and be in the world capturing something significant to humankind. But alas, life happened. I got distracted drinking beer on the beaches of Thailand and riding trains across India with a lazy traveler attitude. I was a bit lackadaisical and not a lot focused. Since marriage, babies, and a lack of time and sleep, I appreciate those carefree days, regret not being more productive, and realize that being in the middle of a war zone might not have been ideal.
Now I dream of fantastic family adventures, like driving across the great plains of Saskatchewan, taking photos of aging farmers, dirt roads, barns, tractors, wheat fields, and prairie skies. Oh, the prairie skies: a vast blue haze threatened by dusty winds and menacing storm clouds, with sunsets that belong in tortured romance novels. With my husband and three boys, wrestling mosquitoes, getting lost on purpose, and cooking marshmallows on open fires for days on end. For those of you with absolutely no idea what Saskatchewan is, it’s a province in the middle of Canada with a lot of flat, dry land, towns turning to dust, and mosquitoes the size of birds.
It can be said that for me, photography goes hand in hand with adventure. My photographic dreams always involve traveling with a camera in my hand, capturing new, exciting worlds and experiences. And tedious stressful experiences that turn into amazing memories. Because being lost and battling mosquitoes the size of birds may not be perfectly enjoyable at the time, but they can be part of perfect moments.
The details:
I was slow to accept the digital revolution and am in the process of returning to film after a few years of shooting digital. I have a lovely collection of cameras stored away in my basement while I travel and am currently shooting with a Canon AE-1p, Nikon F100, and Pentax 645n. I shoot mainly b&w and love working in the dark, developing on my own and printing in the darkroom when possible.
Edit – keeping that little bit of info for nostalgia, but now have the luck of shooting with a leica M6 and Hasselblad 503. I can’t seem to bear parting with my old favourites though, so they stay on my shelf and get a bit of attention now and then:0