Donna Smith

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Donna Smith

Photographer

EAGLE EYES CREATIONS
"MY OTHER LIFE"
BY DONNA J SMITH
swampgal@cox.net
225-819-2020

I was born in 1961, the last of 5 children, to Clyde and Meana Williams, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. My father was in the Air Force, so we traveled a lot. I've lived in Taiwan and Holland, and have visited all over Europe, although most of that occurred before I was 10; when my dad retired to Louisiana and my parents' home town of Morgan City. I've also lived in California, Georgia, and Louisiana, and have traveled the US extensively. Sadly both my parents have passed away, however our family goes forth and seemingly keeps expanding. I, myself, am a great grandmother (if you count pooches as children).

Both parents were very talented artistically and musically and seemed to pass those skills onto each of us; however, most of those skills reached my other 4 siblings (2 girls and 2 boys) and missed me by a long shot. I'm an artistic late-bloomer, compared to the rest of my family. I started taking pictures at 38. In the spring of 1999, I took an "Images in Science course" at LSU and learned how to use a camera to capture images that would help teach scientific concepts. At that time, I was planning to go back and teach in elementary and middle school. We also were given hints on making good pictures: depth of field, rule of thirds, composition, etc. I also took an LSU leisure class in photography basics during the summer of 1999.

I received my Bachelors degree from LSU in elementary education and my Masters degree from UGA in middle school science and had begun my doctorate in instructional technology when I got clobbered with the dream of doing photography. Due to health reasons I had to start looking for a different type of work than formal education. I love doing photography on varied topics. Being new to this type of art, I am in the process of building my equipment up and learning what I need and how to do a variety of types of photography. Many of my friends and family want me to focus more on 1 or 2 subjects, but I don't want to miss anything! I want to learn how to do it all: color, black and white, digital, manipulation, developing, etc. I also tend to do a lot of off-angle shots making some of my pictures unique.

Composition is usually not a problem because I see things and automatically have in mind how to show them. Color and light however, are much more difficult for me to deal with. I have no color sense what so ever and find that taking the same shot from different angles helps cut down the problems with light and glare. Now that the creativity bug has hit me, I would also like to learn how to draw, paint, create wood sculpture and make stained glass creations.

I love to learn new things and am so curious about what my friends are doing artistically; and I have so many questions that many artists see me coming, and run! I also love the challenge of change and doing new things. I am currently checking into writing news articles, as well as children's books.

To me, photography is about capturing the essence or spirit of what I see. No matter where I am filming, I just search in complete awe of what I find and see. It's like Christmas morning as a child for me when I am out in nature or surrounded by a flurry of activity. If you look at some of my pictures and think they are paintings, then you see the spirit of the objects. Painters seem to bring pictures to life, and I hope my images do the same. Photography is a gift from God that came out of left field and served as a very therapeutic and healing endeavor in my life. Art helps me relax and get out of my own mind and opens my eyes up to the wonder that exists in our world and around us. It's like a blind person seeing for the very first time, wow! I am inspired by my Maker and His Creation and our relationship to Him, His creation, and to each other.

Presently, (since 1996) I am doing Desktop Publishing Projects that include: Newsletters, Cards of all kinds, Calendars, Ads, Presentations, Flyers, and News Articles. My photography projects include Artists' Portfolio's, Natural Portraits, Special Orders, and Special Events. Other interests that I have are: grant writing, non-statistical research, crossword puzzles, traveling, being with family, history, and science. I belong to the Baton Rouge Photographic Society and the River Region Art Gallery in Gonzales.

Examples of Donna Smith's work:

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