I began teaching myself to see through the lens and to make photographs in 1970. In those early years, I worked in color and created the “Enchanted Landscapes” multi-image slideshow series. My work has stretched over time and moved in many directions. At this writing, I am using mostly black and white film and hand coloring prints with oils. Digital photography is a mere speck on the horizon that I may, or may not, embrace someday.

I print on silver rich fiber papers and process to archival standards. I use toners and textures for subtle shifts in mood if it suits a particular image. Sometimes I will use more than one negative in the enlarger or place objects on the printing paper to create a photogram. I like black and white infrared film in the way it records unusual tonalities and an unexpected ambience.

Hand coloring black and white prints is something I truly enjoy doing. Each original takes several hours to complete. I use both oils and color pencils and reproduce the hand colored images as gicle’e prints. I have been inspired by the painting style of Georgia O’Keefe. I like the way she blended realities as well as unique placement of tones.

When photographing in an outdoor environment it doesn’t matter much where I am. I don’t often travel far. I always look for sensual lines, unusual lighting conditions and pleasing shapes in hillsides, trees and plants. In photographing the figure, I see how the shape of the body echoes that of environmental forms.

The best thing that happens to me behind the camera is a sort of non-thinking state of temporary forgetfulness. In these brief moments, which almost have no words, I record images that are mainly emotional response – without mental notions of what something is supposed to look like. While I cannot completely disregard the mechanics of photography, I do try to stay fixed on the shining point where all paths meet.

Mary Goodrich
Volcano, Hawaii
5/30/06