A View Into the Snow Garden

Piece description from the artist

This photograph was one of the first I made on a roll of Kodak CN400 film I bought especially for documenting this Blizzard at the turn of the year in 2011. This view up Highland Avenue in Somerville, MA is from the bottom step of the house I lived in for 8.5 years; if you look closely, you'll see the Armory building to the very right of this image. I could hardly bracket for exposure: the storm was winding down and the air was "clear" even though brittle snow was falling fast as the last of the winds headed out. It was nearly Midnight, and my neighbors were out in force shoveling out around their cars. The sidewalks had been plowed regularly throughout the late afternoon through the evening by the Somerville Public Works people and I was grateful: after spending a night and day indoors, I was ready to do something happy and useful :)

Other works by Gretchen Graham

About Gretchen Graham

Watertown, MA
I seek to communicate the essence of Place in my work; and to give viewers their own "decisive moment"—for as many negative things that can and do happen in this world, I have faith there is a far greater number of moments of beauty and quiet strength that I can photograph to share with people . I began photographing at the age of 16, and after pouring over a Christmas gift, Ken Heyman's "All the World's Family," in 1983, I knew my camera would never be far from me! I work primarily in 35mm format using silver-based film, making my prints in a wet darkroom. Since 2011 I've included my cell phone—currently a Galaxy S4—as part of my tools. Beginning with the writing and photography programs at Wesleyan University's Center for Creative Youth in high school, I continued to take formal classes in photography and darkroom technique throughout college. Upon graduating from New England College (NH) I moved to Washington, DC where I assisted a studio photographer for three years, gaining experience in studio and darkroom management, and lighting technique. I have been an active and exhibiting photographer-member of Washington Street studios/art collaborative since 2008, making my art almost exclusively in the darkroom. As a member of The Art Connection Boston, I currently have photographs placed at TILL (Toward Independent Living & Learning) in Watertown, MA, Roxbury Community College, Bridgewater State University, and the Eliot Community Human Services in Malden. I exhibited in TEDxSomerville 2012, am currently Coordinator of the Somerville Open Studios (SOS) Volunteer Exhibit, as well as the 2017 SOS Assistant Coordinator.

I work mainly in series form, and you review them at https://www.flickr.com/photos/ananda/albums.
Ken Heyman, Eugene Atget, James Nachtwey, and Mary Ellen Mark are my photographic mentors; and I seek to photograph as beautifully as Lord Dunsany wrote

See Gretchen's portfolio here
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