Wish You Were Here, an installation of photographs by Lori Steed
Interview excerpts:
Why do you photograph?
Photography is a relationship between me, the world, and my camera. Whether it’s monarchs from October to March, pelicans, crabs, great horned owl, or a great blue heron, each sighting would delight and inspire me to stop, bring the camera to my face and connect with the subject. I watch and wait. I look for a good combination of subject and background. And sometimes, the picture waits for me and all I need to do is raise the camera and click. Those are the lucky moments – the moments where I feel blessed by the universe with a gift to take home in my camera and share with the world.
What inspires you?
Light and color, certainly. With the sky and landscape as nature’s canvas, watching the painting unfold before my eyes as the earth rotates is what inspires me! Then what? The natural and basic human need for connection is strong in me. I can’t say why. It’s always been there. I love to connect with people, to learn about who they are and their journey. I love studying facial expressions and the way our energy shifts and changes when we experience various things. From my late teen years I sought and shared inspiration and encouragement and during the same time frame I began photographing. My first photography class was an after school hours club taught by a teacher at my high school. The field trips are the most memorable. I began to realize the connection between a preserved image and a memory. I could look at the image of a Santa Ynez Valley creek and it would take me back to the feeling of being there. I could feel the warm sun, hear the running water and the breeze blowing in the trees. I could hear the birds sing and smell the pungent sage and sycamore.
Have you always been an artist?
I have been taking photographs since I was 15, growing up in the beautiful Santa Barbara area. I studied graphic design and photography at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in the early 1980’s. After raising two children, I decided to open a photography business, pursuing a passion about art and memory, and making personal connections. But it all happened organically, over time.
After years of developing my analytical mind, discovering the discipline of systems thinking, and developing my talent as a facilitator and presenter, I continued to make more and more connections with the uses of photographs and purposes of taking pictures. I was working on images late one night, going through and sorting and after a couple hours of work I went to bed. Lying on my back with my eyes closed, the images replayed in my head and I relaxed, a big smile on my face and a big glow in my heart. That was probably my "aha!" moment that gave me the courage to continue in an even more serious way.
The other thing I found as I took more and more portraits and candid shots in public or at events was that the camera served as a bridge into dialogue with people. It was a place to start a conversation. I do not have a natural ability for starting a conversation, but I do like to connect with people, and the camera allows me to do that.
Over the years, photography has become a truly integral part of me. My husband Thomas Sortino coined the term philosographer in his observation of me. The label fits!
