A Walk in the Park
In today's world it’s all too common to be connected to a screen and the internet the greater part of any given week. There is so much to gain visually and mentally by exploring the great outdoors. A Walk in the Park is a photographic love letter to national and regional state parks as seen through my camera lens. With a nod to the early pioneer photographers, such as Carleton Watkins and William Henry Jackson, I focus on the beauty of these protected lands considering that they are vulnerable to political and climate change.
Having an appreciation for pictorialism and photography from the turn of the 19th century, I find lith printing an intriguing process to express my vision. The warm tones, hard shadows and soft highlights of lith prints create a timeless atmosphere of delicacy and nostalgia. I shoot with vintage and plastic cameras on film and make original analog prints in the darkroom. This body of work includes a unique series of hand-colored lith prints inspired by vintage travel postcards. Utilizing oil paints for photographic paper I blend hues to mimic and harmonize the color palettes as seen on these early souvenirs.
—Ann Pallesen