Name of Artist – Stefanie Harron
Venue – #19 Common Grounds
Artistic Medium – Photographs
Hometown - Castlegar
Artist’s Bio and Statement
Through the years since I was a child I have had a deep heartfelt connection with the wilderness and wildlife in their natural habitats, it is a strong spiritual connection that brings me endless peace and leaves me feeling balanced with the world and society. I was introduced to photography at a young age developing film and prints in the darkroom from the age of 9 and my education in photographic arts progressed through Grammar School in Northern Ireland and College in Canada. I have developed many different photographic styles over the years in fine art portraiture, photojournalism, to astrophotography and landscapes, with my favorite disciplines being landscape and wildlife photography.
Born in Belfast, Northern Ireland in 1968, and emigrating to Canada when I was a teenager, I have tried to capture the beauty of my surroundings and the vast wildernesses of Canada through my camera. Having settled and making my home in the town of Castlegar, West Kootenay’s, British Columbia, has given me a vastness of opportunities in this land of diverse cultures, endless mountains and forests.
I have preferred to stay away from Photoshop and other such graphic arts programs for photo enhancement, and in preferring to do so, I only use such programs to duplicate techniques that I used in darkroom laboratories before digital imaging replaced the age of film.
From the shores of the Pacific to the Atlantic, and Arctic oceans, it’s my goal to try and capture as much as I can from behind my lens so that generations to come can see the beauty that is everywhere.
I am constantly looking and connecting with new environments to photograph, from underwater to the night skies and constantly strive to develop new techniques searching for natural beauty in light, colors, shapes and texture that invokes emotion. I hold college diplomas in Professional Photography and Video-journalism. I am the founder of Castlegar Photographic Arts Society which is a non-profit corporation. All revenues go back into the society to maintain the highest technological standard for equipment, education and the furthering advancement of the photographic arts in the community. When I am taking a photograph, and looking through my viewfinder, I don’t ask myself, “How does it look?” I always ask myself, “How does it make me feel?”
“I am happiest listening to the trees talk as the wind sings its song, while watching the light dance”