Paul Smith - >>

For most of us, we take for granted our ability to see the world and navigate through it. Yet as we work our way through these busy lives of ours, we sometimes forget to stop and take a second look. We fail to see what is around us, what influences us without ever saying a word. Because of this, I feel as if sight is one of the least appreciated of the senses. People are always listening to music, each other, speaking, working with objects, yet rarely do we take the time to gaze upon something that we find visually appealing just for the sake of enjoying that experience.

I see my photography as an opportunity to freeze these visual influences in time. It is my opportunity to tell someone else to take a second look as I did. Examine something; realize through composition and form, how certain scenes can make a person feel. Perhaps with an image, I can cause people to slow down a bit, and examine a scene, pick it apart, perhaps even spark discussion.

Form and design also play a large part upon the images that I capture. While one person may just see a piece of architecture, I see light and shadows playing off of the lines and form that drove its creator to shape it in such a way. Colors may at times accentuate this, but the pure form of a great image is beyond that. As an amateur still, I prefer to let these colors assist me in creating my images. Once I feel comfortable that I've mastered composition, I may move beyond to strictly black and white, letting the image tell the whole story without the comments of color.

I've always felt that I've had an eye for capturing great pictures. This has driven me to continue to pursue the next great shot. Chattanooga offers such a wide range of subject matter, and I've only begun to scratch the surface of what can be captured. The new South Side development is especially exciting since it affords me the opportunity to capture the uniqueness of its growth. It is this breadth of possibilities that spurs me onward, and outward to make myself proud of the visual images I create on paper.

It is my hope that within the next few months, I will have expanded my portfolio so that I may have a wide enough spectrum of subject matters to sell these works. There are many places here in Chattanooga that I feel would provide me with an opportunity to offer my works. Both shops on the north shore and in the art district, as well as local markets offer me the chance to present my pictures to a wide range of people. Having been published in the Chattanooga Zoo's quarterly newsletter, I also hope to further my technique in capturing animals and to provide the Zoo with more images for use in their publications.