Interview with Laura Macky

Laura Macky – A Way Out

Laura Macky’s creativity is a bright light that cuts through a lot of the noise on the internet.  I discovered her blog a while back and have consistently enjoyed seeing the art she makes and the way she sees the world.  This interview was a chance to get a behind the scenes glimpse at what goes into making her images, and a chance to share her bold, painterly, thinking outside of the box images with you.  Hope you enjoy! 🙂

Where are you located?

I’m in the San Francisco Bay Area in California

Laura Macky – Sailboat

How did you get into photography?

I used to play the piano as a hobby but developed a nerve issue in my right hand from a neck injury/surgery and I couldn’t play like I used to.  For several years I had no hobby and one day I thought it might be fun to try photography because it was in the arts, and I’ve always been a huge fan of the arts!  So off I went to our local camera store to buy cheapest DSLR, a Nikon D3000.  I remember going out with the camera for the first time and being scared to even press the button in auto.

Laura Macky – Fog Wave

Laura Macky – SF Skyline

One of things I love about your work is the creativity and bold edits. Do you have a vision in mind when you shoot, or do you let the photo edit develop as you start working with each image?

I love this question Shannon.  Thank you!   First off, you can probably tell I love color and vibrant color to boot!  I do a bit of B&W too but color is definitely my favorite.  It’s important that my personality show through in my photos and because I think I’m anything but demure lol, I think you pick up on that side of me through my editing.  As to the second question, usually I’m driven by mood of what I’m seeing at the time.  For instance, if I’m standing behind a willow tree and I see beautiful light and I feel magical, I know that I will try to edit the photo to match my feeling at the time.  Or if I’m zooming in on a tiny flower and I see it as a jewel box while I’m there, I will try to edit that way later.  Once in awhile I get an image that’s in between and then I let myself go in photoshop and see what I come up with…no preconceived idea up front.

Laura Macky – Flying Mallard

Laura Macky – Windswept

What/whose work inspires you? (Doesn’t need to be a photographer)

What inspires me are artists who are original and come from a unique viewpoint.  I see a lot of images that look the same and you can’t really tell who took the photo.  It’s inspirational to me to see someone who takes a chance and expresses themselves out-of-the-box.

 

Laura Macky – CA in Pacifica

Laura Macky – Willow Glow

What are your goals for your images? Are you trying to convey anything with your art?

My goal is to express the mood I felt at the time I took the photo.  I hope to evoke someone to feel the same as I did when I took the photo.  Since I’m fairly new to photography, I feel like only recently have started to be able to do this and while I’m not always successful, it’s what keeps me motivated to improve.  When people comment on my photos with certain words that I was already thinking, I feel like I’ve accomplished what I set out to do.

Laura Macky – Here Comes The Bride

Laura Macky – Tangled Coneflower

How can people find you? Website, email, twitter, instagram, etc.

You can find me at http://www.lauramacky.com/, www.lauramacky.wordpress.com, info@lauramacky.com.  I’m also on G+, Twitter, and Flickr.  The links can be found either on my website or on my blog in the sidebar.  Thank you for the opportunity to share!