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 Jim Mayfield |
I have been seriously involved in photography for over thirty years. I studied photography at Southwest Missouri State University in my hometown of Springfield, and continued with serious professional preparation at Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles, California. I have operated my own commercial photography studio, worked at a Gannett newspaper for over ten years, and spent two years on a special project for John L. Morris and Bass Pro Shops documenting the seasonal changes of a beautiful ten thousand acre wildlife/nature retreat called Dogwood Canyon in the hills of the Ozarks. |
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The subjects of my greatest delight are the people and places I
encounter on my excursions. Providence calls me to a particular place at
the opportune time and the images unfold poetically in the immaculate
glowing light. My purpose in being involved with this medium is to express this soulful feeling I receive in the presence of such light. I thoroughly enjoy the experience of witnessing the early morning sun as it breathes life and light into a sleeping stream; watching as the light changes minute by minute, and capturing the ultimate moment on film. I welcome chance meetings with the total strangers who make up diverse cultures, and who can generally find some time to spend with a curious guy carrying a huge black camera and a tripod. Light is a fascinating form of energy. It plays with you and entrances you. It begins by enticing with beams and shadows. It gives form and creates emotion. Finally it evolves into an ecstatic glow, a feeling of warmth emitting from the subject that it has wrapped itself around. Light has become a familiar friend and teacher, helping me worship creation, giving me an appreciation for things as they are and unveiling new wonders for me with each click of the shutter. For many years I have been fascinated by the surreal, or super-real. In the past I used several enlargers in a conventional darkroom to assemble montages from various encounters with my camera. The evolution of digital imaging has given me new incentive to create narrative images by composing from negatives cataloged over my entire career. It is stimulating to be able to weave a story from seemingly discordant resources, until they seamlessly appear to be one. It is unfathomable how many frames a photographer exposes in his lifetime. For every picture that is printed, there are thousands of beautiful negatives that lie dormant in some box in the recesses of his abode. What a treat to be able to reach into the past, and to connect with the present in a strange, yet familiar way. This is my calling. To be able to share these special moments with others is my desire. Photography is my life. |
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Little Rock, Arkansas 72201
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