Artist Statement
I have always had a deep attachment to the Southern landscape and people. I believe
it's important to slow down and to really appreciate the people, places and things in
our world. Too many times I've passed an old fruit stand, juke joint, or kudzu-covered
shack--and returned later, too late, to find an empty spot where this piece of rich
Southern culture used to be.
Photography has always been a natural interest and that mixed with my gravitation
towards adventurous paths has helped me discover the unselfconscious blend of
the beautiful and the odd that makes up the South.
This opportunity to capture unique personalities and amazing moments in time is what
makes photography so precious to me.
About the Artist
I'm a wife, mother and photographer living in Charleston, SC and raised in Vicksburg, Mississippi. Some of my strongest memories of my grandparent's house in Cleveland, MS take place in the breakfast room where the rounded walls were filled from floor to ceiling with snapshots of countless landscapes, fishing trips, birthdays, and other special moments throughout my family's life. Beginning sometime in high school, I remember always having a camera on me, usually making my friends and landscapes the subjects of my hobby.
My passion turned from point and shoot toward a more serious devotion in my early 20s when I started school at the Creative Circus in Atlanta, GA. And like countless others, this passion was cemented as such after my first and then second child was born. I love searching for and telling their stories through my lens. My favorite camera to shoot with is my "toy" Holga...I love the light leaks and aged look of the photographs. I am also very pleased with my new digital equipment and love the ease and minimal setup needs of those cameras!
My approach to photography is relaxed and fun. I believe a photograph can capture your true personality when interacting naturally in your environment. And I know the most beautiful images are not posed or planned. I hope you enjoy looking through these photographs as much as I've enjoyed making them!
Take care,
Merideth Finney Garrigan