Samantha Choy is a Film Club Member whose work was featured in PL130 Gallery’s Projected Exposures. Samantha will be one of 13 local artists showing some of her photographs in an upcoming art show at the Old City Jewish Art Center hosted by Jacqui Rizzo. The art show will be on view for one night on February 18th from 7-10pm and we are so thrilled to have been able to print her images for this exhibit. To give the community a little more background on the exhibit and process of printing this show we decided to interview Samantha.
PL: Can you tell us a little bit about yourself? What got you interested in photography?
SC: I’m Sammy! I’m a graphic designer and do photography on the side and as a hobby, so I’ve always been a pretty creative person. I think I got into photography because my cousin was really into taking photographs when we were younger and I looked up to just about everything she did. My dad also documented every special event or outing as kids, so the important ace of capturing memories and moments was there for me at a young age and just stuck with me.
PL: Tell us a bit about this collection of photos you are showing at the art show? What is the inspiration behind the selection of images?
SC: The photos were taken at Antelope Canyon on a recent visit to Arizona. I felt so privileged to be able to see such a natural wonder with my own eyes and on native land. Learning about our Native Americans was by far the most fascinating and interesting part of this trip. Maybe it is because I just really love the female form, and it’s something I’m always looking for, and aside from the very obvious “Lady in the Wind” rock formation, there was a lot of feminine energy about the canyons, which again, I found so interesting considering the matriarchy society of the Najavo nation.
PL: How did you decide on size? What type of experience are you hoping viewers to have while looking at your images?
SC: The two larger pieces to me felt to me to be the strongest images, so I wanted them to stand out and set the tone for the whole theme. And the smaller sizes in my mind tell their stories more subtly but with a stronger use of shadows. I want viewers to feel mesmerized in the same way that I felt when I stepped foot into the canyon.
Without the context of the larger prints, the closeness of the smaller ones almost look like they can be paintings or brush strokes. But in reality they were shaped by the wind and to see such a beautiful texture created by something invisible and intangible will be really fascinating to see up close.
PL: What type of paper did you end up having PhotoLounge use to print your images? What do you like about the paper? How does it impact the quality of the photo, if at all?
SC: I wanted to print on Baryta, a fine art, museum quality paper that The Photo Lounge provides so that it gives my photos the best effect for what they are. I want the colors, textures and shapes of each photograph to be honored in the best way possible.
PL: How does it feel to see your images printed?
SC: It makes me feel proud because as much as I like to photograph, it is pretty rare that I get my photos printed for myself or ever see them in print until I started actively using The Photo Lounge. And it also feels surreal.I feel proud of these pieces even though they are different from what I typically photograph, but they contain all of the elements I am drawn to, with the lines, textures and shapes.
Arrangement of images for exhibition
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If you are photographer in need of printing for a gallery show you are putting on or that you submitted to please email ravid@myphotolounge.com to get a discount on printing.