I have been photographing my world since a family friend gave me a Kodak box camera and I learned to develop prints as a young child. In high school I purchased her first 35 mm SLR camera, learn to develop film, and experimented with a variety photographic of techniques. Later, in college I continued to experiment with art and photography, but concentrated on the history of art. Following college, I worked in the arts including as a gallery director for a contemporary craft gallery. In late 2002 my future husband and I moved west and for the first time since college was able to focus on making my own art again.

My photographs include images of ghost towns, National Parks of the southwest, machinery and cars left abandoned, and images of buildings on sections of old Route 66 in the Mohave Desert. I hope to make the viewer feel the past grandeur of the objects, see how beautiful the objects can be as nature reclaims them, and, in general, see the beauty of the natural landscape of the area. Photography to me is more than documentation, but an exploration of light and composition.

New work includes my “Study of Motherhood” series, inspired by my own experience as a new mother. These photographs express the emotions and bonds between mother and child.

Series include "Study of Motherhood" and "Exploratons of the New Southwest"

"The history and beauty of the Mohave Desert inspired me to produce my latest series of photographs: "Explorations of the New Southwest". Ghost towns, National Parks, machinery and cars left abandoned, and sections of old Route 66 are subjects that make up the images in the series. They are images that recall the past grandeur of the objects and reveal how beautiful objects become as nature reclaims; in general, images that reflect the beauty of the desert in our present day."

You can visit me at my blog: http://ljdesignphoto.blogspot.com (new as of 2008)
or at Flickr http://flickr.com/photos/ljdesignphoto/

Lorissa J. Longfellow