Sandi, at what age did you pick up a camera? I was 15 when I took my first photography class.
What was the subject of your first picture? Do you still have it? I have no idea what my first picture was – it was probably terrible!
Are you always on the hunt for images to capture with your camera? I hope my eyes are always open; it’s a continuous process of roaming and sifting – I don’t always have control of it, but I think about the images I shoot as material to put in context, even if the context itself is about creating a new subjective truth. The process happens, back and forth, as much in my studio as it does out in the world “taking” the photographs; I’m searching for the small parts that make the whole.
Do you ever travel without a camera? No. However, although I’m inspired by new places, it’s the mundane or ordinary that I often find most promising.
What type of equipment did you use for your latest book Between Planting and Picking? I’ve used a variety of equipment throughout the years; the photographs in Between Planting and Picking were made with digital Canon cameras. Except when the photographs are larger than 24×30”, I make my own prints on an Epson 7800 printer with HP paper.
What inspired Between Planting and Picking? This project began on a visit in 2009 to the pioneering Green Gulch Farm and Zen Center in Muir Beach, California. The trip was a graduation gift to our daughter who is interested in sustainable farming. I was unexpectedly inspired by the candid beauty and improvised quality that I found in the unkempt edges of this unique, small farm environment.
What’s so beautiful about these photos? Beauty exists in many forms and has infinite possibilities. I don’t set out to make beautiful photographs – that’s never my intended purpose but if an element of beauty comes through, I’m grateful for it and I don’t shy away from it. In these pictures, (for me) the beauty lies in what’s “there” – the authenticity of the ordinary and the incorporation of that kind of beauty into the frame.
What is it about looking through a lens that inspires you? The lens is precise and the space is compressed, so moving just a few inches can radically alter the way an image looks – that part of creating is exciting to me. The camera forces a selective focus, an attentiveness to a relatively small amount of space, yet our brains create an ongoing visual narrative – for me, making photographs is about trying to make sense of that through the lens.
Did you capture these images at the same time of day? No, they were made at different times of the day. Considering how light can affect the subject is always important to me.
What time of day do you feel most inspired? I have very poor natural vision; I wear a contact lens prescription of -10. In the morning when I wake up, I see in a very dreamy, unfocused state – ironically, it’s a very clear time of thinking/seeing for me.
How do you infuse emotion into all of your images? Not all of my images are infused with emotion – sometimes it’s about deleting emotion. But to try and answer the question, since art happens between the object and the viewer, the emotion generally comes from the viewer. What I may view as an emotional painting or photograph, may leave the next person cold
If you were not a photographer what would you be? A painter.
These images will be on exhibit in New York, Washington, Connecticut and St Louis. Do you go to the openings and do you listen to what people say about your work or avoid it completely? Yes, going to openings is the icing on the cake!
Thanks, Sandi, for inspiring us one more time! Sandi’s images will be exhibited at Rick Wester Fine Art, 511 West 25th St. NYC, through April 16 and at KMR Arts in Washington, CT in September 2011.
photo of sandi haber fifield by pam einarsen