A story starts like this for Jamie Heiden, hailing from the most beautiful West Wisconsin, Jamie creates such elegant and simplistic compositions with her art for photography approach. In this fine interview with 121clicks.com, Jamie shares some unique things about art and her vision towards photography. Speaking about her photographs, there is not much distracting elements or colors which could pop onto you. But what you see is actually a first line of a beautiful story unfolding before you with all that nuance of art. Read on and lets listen to Jamie herself..
Few words about you?
My name is Jamie Heiden and I live in one of the most beautiful places ever called the Driftless Area in Western Wisconsin, USA. I’ve been taking pictures ever since I received my first camera from my mom and dad before I entered high school.
How would you describe your art style?
I’ve heard people describe this style as Photo Impressionism. If the definition of the painted Impressionistic image is ”a literary or artistic style that seeks to capture a feeling or experience rather than to achieve accurate depiction”, I suppose that would fit. Although my intention is not to create an image that would inherently be described as painterly I do try to convey the feeling of that moment perhaps without necessarily recording its exact details like journalistic photography would.
Can you please tell us about your working style?
I get the most satisfaction out of releasing that shutter. So my day trips will often bring in 300-500 images on my camera card. I was taught back in my university schooling that film is your cheapest commodity… if that was true then digital memory is even cheaper. I then sit down at my computer and the beginnings unfold. Each image contains multiple layers. Dodging, burning, boosting contrast and adjusting exposure, all tasks once performed in the darkroom, are now tools I have at my fingertips using the computer.
What is your inspiration, most of your frames are clear in terms of composition and very silent without much distracting colors or elements?
Absolutely! Simplicity is my inspiration; story is my goal. I love an open horizon or a lone tree, an abandoned house or an aged barn. It’s this simplicity that more effectively sets the stage for the narrative to begin inside the viewer’s mind.
One thing art has given you in life?
Simply put, art is a language. Whether it comes in the form of words on a page or paint strokes on paper or notes in the air or movements on the stage or any number of other ‘dialects’, it speaks directly to us. And it allows us to tell our stories and hear other’s. It is a language I understand.
Your future goals?
I hope I can keep doing this that I love for as long as possible. I want to keep learning though too… keep experimenting. There is so much inspiration out there, so much talent that I can’t imagine not having the fuel one needs to keep moving forward. The world has become so much smaller in this digital age and it’s by sharing this inspiration that we are able to change and continue to grow. You don’t ever want to come to the end or your to-do list. :)
What is that you want the viewer to experience in your artworks?
I really do hope that when someone looks at one of my pictures a story begins in their mind. Perhaps it’s a story that continues from another time or another place. Or maybe it’s a new tale that needs to be told. Either way I hope that they are able to see more than just that lonely tree or simple horizon. Hopefully they see themselves there within.
Thanks again for this wonderful opportunity with 121clicks.com, any final words for your fans?
I would say that if you are lucky enough to find something you love, keep doing it. It doesn’t matter what other people think. Once you find your voice, you will find others who also speak your language.
Oh, and thank you 121clicks for the interest and opportunity!
You can find Jamie Heiden on the Web :
Copyrights:
All the pictures in this post are copyrighted Jamie Heiden. Their reproduction, even in part, is forbidden without the explicit approval of the rightful owners.
