PLAYING WITH LIGHT

These images will be in the “Shades of Black and White II” exhibit at the Bernice Kish Gallery in Columbia, MD, during March 2024. The exhibit will showcase the work of seven Baltimore-based photographers, all members of the Baltimore Camera Club, and their unique visions of black and white photography.

Using Light, Creating Shadows

Using Light, Shielding Identity

About Me and My Art

Recently retired from a rewarding and challenging university teaching career, I am pursuing photography to help find meaning and purpose as I set off on this next stage of life, one that’s opening my eyes to new and creative ways to express myself.

As an extrovert with a deep curiosity about the human condition, I find myself particularly drawn to the genre of street photography, where I’m capturing everyday life in public spaces in black and white.

Beginning with color photography, I quickly found myself gravitating toward the power of stripping away the distraction of color to emphasize the dramatic, expressive, emotive qualities of the human experience.

Black and white photography, thus, allows me to capture the rich tapestry of emotions expressed in everyday life and tell stories of universal human experiences. As master photographer Elliott Erwitt said, “Color is descriptive. Black and White is interpretive.”

For me, fine art photography is essentially the art of seeing and creatively capturing light in all its many forms. One creative way might be to use light, with its qualities of brightness and contrast, to create deep shadows, as you see in the images on the left side of the window. Capturing natural light with deep shadows can also reveal unique beauty in a portrait.

And, as a street photographer with eyes and heart particularly drawn to the lives of children, perhaps in moments of play, exploration, or discovery, I’m also using light and shadow to shield identity, as you see in the images on the right side of the window.

While out with my camera capturing these moments in daily life, I’m engaging in conversations that enrich and stimulate my mind – not to mention warm my heart.

I sincerely hope my images, “Playing with Light and Shadow,” will also move you in some way. Perhaps stimulate a thought. Stir an emotion. Or touch your heart.  

 ~Sandy Nichols

A KID’S LIFE

These images will be in the “Shades of Black and White” exhibit at the Bernice Kish Gallery in Columbia, MD, during January 2023. The exhibit will showcase the work of seven Baltimore-based photographers, all members of the Baltimore Camera Club, and their unique visions of black and white photography.