Stephen Pope
Artist Statement I have been taking photographs for over thirty-six years from locations around the world. In my photographs I attempt to recreate the beauty that causes me to stop in my tracks and fires my soul. These are fleeting moments when the primal elements of sky (light), earth (the bones of the planet), water (in all its forms), and fire (color) combine to reach into my heart and cause it to glory in nature’s magnificence.What this means in practice is that I prefer to make images of the scenes I come across in my travels. I prefer natural landscapes often juxtaposed with human elements, be it buildings, vehicles, boats, or roads, rails or canals. As much as many prefer pristine wilderness, we have an impact on this earth which is often ugly but sometimes is a surprisingly beautiful compliment to nature's handiwork.
As I progress in my journey, I invite you along to share in the glories that surround us, down every lane, over each hill, hiding just around the corner.
Biography I came to photography both earlier and later in life than most.
As a child, my sense of smell was far stronger than any of my other senses, something that continues to this day. One of my most vivid memories is of the smell of photography. Not that my family had a darkroom or developing lab, but something much more common and prosaic. My father had a Polaroid camera. I can still smell the film being exposed and the sticks of protecting fixer he applied to each photo. Frankly, I don’t even think I cared about the photographs, I simply loved the smell associated with them.
Now forty-five years later, I am starting an entire chapter of my life centered on photography. I have always enjoyed photography, but was never very serious about it. Photography was always a hobby, an enjoyable pastime, and something others were experts at, but not I.
What has changed? Simple, I have. I was born and raised in coastal Massachusetts until the age of fourteen when I moved to northern New Hampshire. These underpinnings have left me with a deep love for nature, particularly water, mountains, and forests.
Following retirement from a 23 Navy career, I now reside in the Monadnock region of New Hampshire, whose beauty produced such an overwhelming force I absolutely HAD to take photographs. These last few years have been the most wonderful blessing. I’ve regained my health, I’ve leaned to be at peace, and I have taken steps toward creating the photographs I feel reflect my vision.
In the last four years I have been able to travel throughout New England, to Tuscany, Belgium, Paris, Montreal, Arizona, Nevada, California, Florida, and the Great Smoky Mountains, capturing thousands of moments of beauty and enriching my soul. Future travel plans include Puget Sound, Utah, Majorca, Spain and Australia. And that’s just in the next ten months.
What do I foresee? A lifetime of discovering beauty throughout the world, from the streets and alleys of cities and towns to the seldom trod spaces of the far reaches of the globe. I invite you to share with me the glories of this journey.