ARTIST STATEMENT

“The greatest satisfaction derives from the realization of your individual potential, perceiving something in your own way and expressing it through adequate understanding of your tools. Take advantage of everything, be dominated by nothing except your own convictions. Do not lose sight of the essential importance of craft.” – Ansel Adams

When Barbara Richards takes a photograph, she is so focused on the process that nothing else exists around her. She explores her subjects and sees light, color, and endless possibilities. Barbara describes her own work as vivid, sharply defined, and layered – she loves color and is drawn to compositions with many textures.

Throughout her life, Barbara has ventured into many fields, but has always been drawn to creative pursuits such as clothing design, painting, and ultimately, photography. The beauty of nature originally inspired her to learn more about photography, and she has perfected her technique over the years while living in Washington , Arizona , and Utah . She enjoys teaching others about photography, and feels the collaboration of the camera clubs she belongs to is important. She has been inspired by and gets ideas from other photographers, but her work shows her unique way of seeing the world.

When people comment on Barbara Richards' photographs, they say she “really has an eye” for beauty and knows how to compose a good picture. She is often able to see a photograph where others may not. Although many photographers have to hike to remote destinations to get fresh, stunning landscape photographs, Barbara (who doesn't enjoy hiking) says, “When the light is right, you can take a beautiful picture of anything, wherever you are.” She encourages other photographers to explore, take pictures from different angles, and to “turn around and look behind you – your next picture is right there.” She hopes that viewers will take from her work whatever inspires them, and perhaps remember the beauty of a place they have visited.

Barbara's photography is constantly evolving, and recently she has become interested in human subjects and computer photo enhancement. She values the entire process of designing, taking, and developing a picture into her own work of art, including the unlimited potential available with computer technology. She considers displaying her work to be part of the process, and enjoys the shows and galleries she has been a part of. She hopes to continue to show her work in local galleries, in Arizona and New York .

Some of the photographs Barbara has created are Kodaliths , which have become a lost art because similar effects can be achieved with special computer software. Kodaliths are made by exposing a slide onto a special film which, after developing, produces a negative of the slide. The slide and the negative are sandwiched together, and the outcome is always unexpected. Sometimes a lot of the color comes through, while others can be very dark and muted. Barbara then digitally enhances the slide to recover colors or to exaggerate light and dark values to create mood. All the Kodaliths have been produced on watercolor paper to add further dimension to these enchanting photographs.

As Barbara continues to perfect and develop her skills and style, the driving force behind her work remains her love for photography. She wants others to enjoy her work and to be inspired to see beauty and opportunities around them.