Catherine Pfaffenroth

MALD 2008

Photography has always been a hobby of mine. Looking through the lens of a camera allows me to concentrate on an image that strikes me emotionally, intellectually or perhaps simply aesthetically. The details of the scene, the gravity of a situation, or the pure visual balance – something catches my attention that requires a record of it.

For several years now, I’ve been training my eye to frame a concept, or even to see that an image is photogenic before I can process my thoughts associated with it. So many times an image is gone in a second and only the fragile memory is left. A photograph preserves that thought or that reaction for a while longer.

These ideas are common to photographers and are very much a motivation for my efforts. Over time newness became a necessary element in my response to images. Now, my goal is to record the quotidian and the expected by imagining how it might be new to another’s eyes.

The photographs were all taken with either a Canon EOS Elan IIE, combined with lenses ranging from 17mm to 300mm, or a 5-23mm Canon PowerShot SD700 IS.