Amanda Martin, Kingston, Ontario
Member Since July 2008
Artist Statement I have been told I am a creative person. I've always been good with words, I loved to act, I was okay with music... but I never truly found my 'niche', as it were. After several failed attempts at becoming a novelist, I decided to give up on it. I just couldn't find the inspiration.
I bought a 1.3 megapixel digital camera on a whim, as it was on sale, and I was eager to take photos of my favorite subject, my autistic son, Daniel. The quality of the images was poor, but I never let it damper my ambition. I upgraded to a 5mp camera a few years ago, and started carrying it with me wherever I went. I found that photography offered me something I didn't have in my other creative endeavors: complete freedom. There is something about seeing the perfect moment and capturing it. Granted, not all of my shots were stellar, or even that worthy of praise, but I just genuinely enjoying taking photos of things that caught my eye in my daily travels. And I quickly discovered that my best work was taken outdoors, shots of landscapes being my chosen medium.
After a tragic waterfall accident, I lost my camera, and became disheartened. I had lost my outlet. Unable to afford a decent replacement, I sulked and moped, lost without the only thing that truly let me express myself.
One spring weekend, while visiting my in-laws, I borrowed my father-in-law's state of the art Canon 10 megapixal SLR. I reveled in being able to shoot things again, and took myself outside where I snapped shots of everything I saw. The colorful flowerbeds, the springy green grass... and I even took a photo of the blossoming apple trees that littered the backyard. One of these photos also had some unexpected visitors: a pair of honeybees gathering pollen from the delicate pink flowers. I was happy I got such excellent and fulfilling shots that day, and was a little sad when I had to say goodbye to the Canon and come home 'emptyhanded' without a camera of my own.
On the way, a radio advertisement asked for submissions to a photography contest. When we arrived home, I uploaded my bees-in-the-tree photo, and was shocked and amazed when I received a phone call from the radio station later that evening, proclaiming that I had won the daily competition. And the prize, you ask? A brand new Samsung 8.1 megapixel camera! Was this a sign from the gods that I was intended to do something productive with my keen eye and creative photography style? It might not have been, but I took it to be so!
In the many moons since that fateful spring evening when I found my new best friend, Sammy and I have traveled far and wide, shooting a variety of subjects and landscapes, and we would like to share those precious moments we have spent together with you.
Thanks for browsing, as I truly appreciate any and all recognition for my work.
Sincerely,
Amanda
Click to save as artist's preferred kit 
