An Interview With Photographer Linda Plaisted

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Oct 16th, 2007 | By admin | Category: Interviews

I saw Linda Plaisted’s photos on Imagekind and liked her photo montage techniques so much I asked her to do an interview. Here it is:

How would you describe your photographic vision? What kind of look/atmosphere/feel do you try and create in your photos?

My photographic vision is to tell stories without words. My images are often bittersweet, like half-remembered melodies or fragments of memory. I generally don’t begin with any specific intent, but rather allow images to evolve organically as I shoot and edit in post-processing. Ultimately, it pleases me if my images strike a chord of emotion or trigger a sense memory in the viewer.

Your work is very creative. Where do you get your ideas and inspiration from?

Thomas Edison once said that genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration. Though I make no claims to be a genius, I do believe that the diligent and daily practice of my craft prepares me to receive inspiration when it appears. I send myself out to shoot on location nearly every day, just as professional athletes train constantly to be in top condition for peak performances. These exercises are a form of meditation, prayer and practice, and have certainly allowed me to be more creative on a consistent basis.

When did you start taking photos and why? What made you decide to explore photography as a means of artistic expression?

I started taking pictures with my grandfather’s old Brownie Hawkeye camera when I was eight or nine years old, and commandeered whatever cameras my family had from that time on. I took forgettable garden variety snapshots until I began using my older brother’s Canon AE-1 SLR when I was in high school. I recall making my first attempts with the specific intent of shooting something interesting or beautiful to my eye.

I studied photography in art school as a sideline to painting and fine art media, and finally bought a 35 mm camera of my own. I used that trusty old friend for almost twenty years and took it all over the world with me. I came back to photography as my primary means of artistic expression after the birth of my children. Being a full-time mother of two small humans does not leave enough time to work with oils and acrylic paints and the fumes and chemicals are not safe to use around curious little people, so I had pretty much resigned myself to a premature retirement. A few years ago I bought a digital camera ostensibly to photograph childhood milestones, but it soon became a way back into art for me and ultimately a kind of salvation and impetus of my own creative milestones.

One thing I really like about your work is the blend between photography and art. How much of your work is photography and how much the other media you work with? Talk us through the processes you use in combining photography with other media.

I am often asked if, in addition to selling prints, I would be willing to sell my “originals.” The fact is that each image is an original in itself, as most of my layered pieces are created in post-processing and not in three dimensional forms. I use photographs of textures from my own paintings, from nature, from walls and windows, odds and ends, and collected ephemera to create a three dimensional depth to my digital photomontage pieces that may lead viewers to believe they are looking at a painting. I am just at this moment revamping my home studio so that I can get back to creating mixed media pieces once again that will in fact be one-of-a-kind originals. These pieces will incorporate physical layers from my digital work and other media applied to canvas, so it will be like turning my whole process inside out.

Nature has a strong presence in a lot of your work. What role does nature play in your photography? What other themes do you explore in your work?

I grew up in the countryside of Pennsylvania, where children would play outside in the woods all day and only come in when our mothers called us for dinner in the evening. Nature is my family, trees are my roots. When I moved from urban Washington, DC to rural Maryland a few years ago, I was able to reunite with this natural family again and reconnect to the natural cycle of the seasons and explore themes of growth, death and rebirth.

Name three photographers or artists you like and why.

I am indebted to the great masters of painting and sculpture, and all of the arts. They are my creative ancestors and I have studied them and interpreted their classic themes in my own way. In contemporary art, I like William Christenberry‘s series of the American South, Julie Blackmon’s invented “Domestic Vacations,” Nick Brandt’s iconic animal imagery, but more for all he leaves unspoken than for what he reveals. I admire Franco Fontana because in some ways we are speaking a similar visual language. Of his landscape photography, Fontana says, “I try to isolate in space and time all that is normally mixed up with an infinity of details. Extracting a few essential elements from the entirety that presents itself to the human eye is one of my inner requirements.”

The people whose work I admire most are the as-yet-unknown photographers and artists who are out there creating every day purely for self-expression. Do not stop.

You have an impressive list of gallery exhibitions. What advice can you give a photographer or artist who wants to break into exhibiting?

I had barely gotten a little momentum started, when my son was born and I had to pack up my brushes and paints, so I am now in the process of starting from scratch myself. What people don’t realize is that the business side of art takes a hearty percentage of your time once you commit to showing your work professionally. You have to dedicate time each week to tracking down exhibition opportunities, marketing your work, making connections, and creating not just art, but a business.

My advice to those starting out is

1. Create what you love and practice consistently

2. Work in series to develop a cohesive body of work and expand your ideas

3. Get involved locally with community arts organizations

4. Visit galleries and museums wherever you go to see what is showing, what is selling, and keep your vision ahead of the current

5. Show your work at small local group shows and work your way up from local to regional to national to international venues

6. Never lose your “beginner’s mind.” This means having an attitude of openness, eagerness, and lack of preconceptions when studying a subject, even when working at an advanced level.

Where is your photography going? What future photographic project or projects are you excited about?

I am just about to embark upon a new series of large mixed media pieces that incorporate images from my photographic work with painting. I am excited about getting my hands dirty again! I’m shooting a new Polaroid series at the moment and I also just finished “The White Chair Series” which, while not a groundbreaking new concept, does takes my straight landscape photography in the direction of the constructed scene rather than standard found tableaux. I have several other ideas in mind in this same mode and will work on them in turn (all with a newborn baby on my hip, I might add.)

I will keep working and practicing so keep checking in, because you never know what may result from inspiration.

How long have you been selling your photos on Imagekind?

Only for a month or two, and I would rather use the word “showing” than selling, because I have only sold a handful of pieces there in that time. The site and its target market seem to be in the infant stages. I direct clients to my web site instead.

What three pieces of advice would you give to a photographer who wants to successfully sell his or her work on Imagekind?

1. Keep all of your information current and provide additional ways for clients to contact you

2. Focus your galleries on one particular series or genre of work instead of a big confusing jumble of images

3. Post only your best, most consistent work

Tell us three effective things a photographer can do to promote and market his work at Imagekind?

See above and don’t expect people to come to you. You still have to market your work elsewhere until Imagekind matures into a legitimate venue for artists.

How do you promote your Imagekind Gallery? How important are your website and blog in promoting your Gallery? What promotion tips can you give to our readers?

My web site is my most important tool, so clients and galleries can find me and I can direct them to my work. I keep my gallery shop up-to-date with my most recent series and keep those series edited to the best quality work.

I see also that you sell your work on Absolutearts.com. Do you sell your work online anywhere else too? How do these sites compare to Imagekind? What are the strengths and weaknesses of each?

Nearly a decade ago, I set about the task of marketing my work all over the internet, and AbsoluteArts.com was one of the first venues I used. I don’t these web sites for actual sales transactions; rather I use these outlying sites to promote my work and direct traffic to my web site.

Bonus Question: Your dream assignment. What is it?

I went on safari in Africa in 2003 with my old trusty Canon AE-1 film camera. I used about 40 rolls of expensive film and thought I had taken the images of a lifetime, only to get home, get them processed and realize that my old camera was on its last gasp and had truly failed me when I needed it the most. I would love to have the opportunity to return to Africa with an excellent camera and the time to do the continent and its inhabitants proper justice.

Visit Linda’s website ManyMuses here.

See Linda’s Imagekind Galleries here.