MARISA FINDLAY
I have always had an appreciation of photography and painting however it has only been in my mid twenties that I have started to satisfy and explore this love. My skills are largely self taught and picked up along the way and still very much at their infancy stage, however with the start of this new year, 2012, I am offering my craft to you.
As a child growing up in Zambia I observed my father enjoying his photography hobby, but it was never something I took part in - rather it remained this complicated world that I knew nothing about. I played around with film and then a simple digital point and click camera with mediocre results, but it was only until I took my Dad’s Nikon 1X on safari in the Luangwa that I discovered the buzz. Just on automatic mode I was lucky enough to get some amazing shots and it was then that the bug really got me - I wanted to know how I could create the images I wanted.
About - Marisa Findlay
Fast forward nearly four years and I’ve invested in my own SLR, learnt a thing or two about lenses and light and most importantly experienced pregnancy which has been my training ground of creative discovery. Then of course the result, my daughter, who lights my creative fire each day with her development and my quest to document it all as she marvels at everything new. She has taught me to see the world with new eyes - to appreciate the beauty that is literally all around us, if we stop and notice. I feel there is a certain magic when the shutter clicks at the right moment, and the moments in between those moments, to capture the essence of the person.
My painting has slowly developed alongside my photography and I think in many ways has helped me see in new ways. When I paint I am simply putting pen/brush to paper and attempting to capture the beauty of the human figure - more recently the pregnant figure. I have always been fascinated by seeing the miracle of new life lovingly carried and nurtured by a woman’s body. I attempt to create a sacred representation of this miracle.
In addition to photographing and painting, a great deal of my time is spent patchwork quilting - a skill that has been passed down to me from my mother. It gives me the space to stop and reflect while at the same time creating a sense of solving the puzzle of life as each piece is sewn into place.