Rhonda Prince now becomes author on F-Blog

I love all kinds of cameras...I love pushing buttons, turning dials and looking through viewfinders. What is even more exciting to me is when a picture jumps out at me uninvited. It's just there staring me in the face, begging to be taken. Of course, sometimes I plan a picture by composing, calculating, agonizing over the light, etc...but I keep taking pictures for the interlopers who appear unannounced, challenging me to grab a camera fast enough to answer their call... Mostly photography is what keeps me sane and feeds my soul…

Available, 2007

Some of the well-known photographers who have influenced me are Walker Evans, Diane Arbus, Elliot Erwitt, Robert Frank, Robert Adams, William Eggleston…to name a few. The music/poetry of Tom Waits, Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen inspires me as well.

115th dream, 2006

My favorite photography quote: “The thing that's important to know is that you never know. You're always sort of feeling your way.”

(Diane Arbus)

I have been feeling my way in photography since 2001 while living and working in Chattanooga, Tennessee as an exceptional education teacher. My true love is shooting film, color and b&w, in a variety of 35mm and medium-format cameras. Education in photography has been from books, trial and error and a myriad of talented photographers I’ve met on numerous photo sites.

Overturned, 2004

I don’t see a particular thematic pattern in my pictures though there may be one. I do know empty chairs and seats or all types seem to have a recurring role. I tend to take pictures of places and things more than people. Finding the beauty in inanimate objects is like hunting for treasure. The textures and patterns combined with light and shadow create a landscape of their own. I search for the story in a place or object, imagining what happened before I took the picture or maybe after. I often like to add words and titles to my pictures when the picture evokes an emotion. Recently I have started a blog with poems illustrated by photos or photos illuminated by poetry, whichever way you want to see it. So many times it may be the memory of the place or the circumstances of when I took the picture that makes the photo more meaningful to me than anyone else. Because of this fact, it is always exciting when others understand my vision and appreciate my photos.

Chasing Bubbles, 2008

I’ve experimented some with toy cameras and developing b&w film in the kitchen sink. No matter how many times I try it I find there is nothing like the feeling of pulling the film from the reel and seeing that a picture has actually developed there…magical!

Hard times, 2007

I have so much to learn…so many directions to follow…always hoping to propel myself forward. I feel honored to have this opportunity to be a part of F-Blog and all the fine photographers represented here. More of my pictures can be seen here on F-Blog , BlogSpot and altphotos

Northshore, 2005