Get the Picture?

By Shana Karn
Shots By Shana

“To capture this truth through light, shadow and color is my talent, my calling, and my joy.”

~[Dryden Native] Suzy Clement, Suzy Clement Photographs

It wasn’t until recently that I decided to make my passion more than a “hobby.” This decision was one of the easiest decisions I’ve ever made. Have you ever heard the saying, “If you do what you love, it’s not really a job?” This is how I feel about photography. I love taking pictures. I knew this the moment my mother gave me her 35mm Canon AE-1 for one of my college photography courses in 1988. Immediately, I fell in love with black and white photography and I shot and developed hundreds of black and white photos. I took pictures of children playing and swinging, friends striking fun and sexy poses, landscapes, cows, houses…. I took picture after picture.

When digital cameras arrived on the scene, again, my mother changed my life when she presented me with a big SONY, which required a floppy disk to record my images. I loved the endless possibilities digital photography offered but, for a very long time, I continued to shoot with my old AE-1. As time went on and digital cameras improved, I slowly switched over (almost completely) to digital photography. Though, I still have my old 35mm and occasionally do a mad search for film, shoot an entire roll and then balk at the processing fees.

One of the things I enjoy most about photography is that it allows me to fall in love over and over and over again. I fall in love with landscapes, animals, babies, families, brides and grooms, grandparents, maternity bellies… It is never-ending. What a great feeling falling in love is! Who wouldn’t want to feel this way every day?

I love looking at photos, too. Not just myown photos, but any photos. Suzy Clement is a friend and classmate of mine; she is the artist behind the camera—Suzy Clement Photographs. Her wedding photos are breathtaking. Suzy has received many, many industry accolades and awards, been published in countless magazines and books and recently had her first book published (Weddings: From Snapshots to Great Shots – available on Amazon.com). I love looking at Suzy’s work; her photos are mesmerizing. She truly captures moments and memories. Another friend and classmate, Lisa Marie, does incredible self-portraits. She is stunning– whether in full costume (she does theater) or completely bare. This is a talent I have yet to perfect. I am much more comfortable behind the camera! I have to thank Facebook for reconnecting me with both of these incredibly talented and artistic women. Wow! I am so lucky to know such talented people and to be inspired by their work.

For Christmas, my mother and father, presented me with the newest addition to my camera-family. It would be wonderful if a new camera meant that all of my photos were breathtaking but this isn’t how photography works. Listen carefully…The camera DOES NOT make the photograph. It is the photographer. As a photographer—the artist, your mind and your eye make your photograph; the camera simply captures the photographer’s art, much like a painter’s paint brush….
Partnering with my father, Andy Seyfried, and opening The Second Knob Gifts & Antiques, 128 W. Main St. in Dryden, provided me with both time and space for my photography. I shoot both natural-light and studio shots for engagements, weddings, senior pictures, family portraits, maternity and infant photos and more! Contact me at (607)844-5662 to discuss my services! I would love to hear from you!

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