Towards the end of high school I met a good friend who had been given a film camera of his mother’s. He showed me how to use it and let me take photos from time to time. I immediately fell in love (with the camera and the boy), and bought my own Minolta X-700 from eBay a few months later. I always had an interest in photography; I had just never been given the opportunity to try it out for myself until that point.
I use a variety of new and old film and digital cameras. I use my Canon 5D Mark II most often. Its quality and instant feedback is necessary for doing commissioned portraiture. My favourite film camera is still the Minolta X-700. I love working in film. The results seem to have a more raw and real quality.
I try to capture simplicity in my photographs. Simplicity is what I find beautiful. And I strive to reflect the world’s beauty in my photography. I think most of my work has a calming effect. I achieve this by using natural settings and light sources. I also aim for a more documentary style of photography, as opposed to posed photo shoots.
I prefer photographing people. Most of my work is simply capturing moments in my life, therefore my work is filled with images of friends and family, my surroundings. Portraiture is particularly fascinating to me because of the unique connection that is made between the photographer and subject. I love being able to represent a subject and his/her own traits and emotions.
This photo was captured recently on a road trip to the Highlands. I never want to forget the feeling of complete peacefulness I experienced on this adventure. For me, capturing moments like this gives me a way to vividly relive memories.
I took this photo at my grandmother’s seventieth birthday party at her home in Montana. My grandmother is one of my greatest role models. Her strength has only grown with age, despite a battle with lung cancer. I love the warm and comforting feeling I get from this photo, a feeling that reminds me of my grandmother’s company.
This is an image I took at a small lake in North Dakota called Strawberry Lake. It is a very personal image as I am the subject. The photo depicts a short moment in time that was completely my own. Moments like these can be uncommon, so they must be appreciated. In this photo, I see the beauty in solitude.
This photo is of my youngest sister McKinlee at age eleven. It’s also one of my earliest shots. Though I was still unfamiliar with the technicalities of photography, things simply went right in this photo. Beauty was captured in my own inexperience. This innocence also describes my sister at a time in life when she was especially inexperienced. In these instances, we share vulnerability and excitement in dealing with something new.
See more of Anzley’s photos at www.flickr.com/photos/a_harmon
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