DEANNA DUSBABEK
photography
my
SALVATION
The last few months of the Covid Crisis have been very tough--mentally, physically, emotionally and psychologically. In fact, it's been traumatic. Not just for me, but for millions of people across the country. (Please see my blog post about Covid and Mental Health Trauma)
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As a small business owner, the lockdown situation that still exists in my state of Washington has shuttered my portrait and headshot work. After seven years of pouring my heart and soul into my dream, I'm now unable to operate.
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But, as a fine art photographer, with a concentration on florals, I have the opportunity to rethink my business. For now, my time will be spent amongst the blossoms, creating work I hope will beautify people's lives.
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My little garden was the place I spent most of my time in the beginning of the Covid lockdown. It's where I went to recharge every day, because I was trying to cope with the devastation of losing my business. That blooming place healed me. It saved me from despair. It's my salvation garden.
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the
IMAGES
These images were all taken in my garden during this most recent part of the Covid lockdown, either early in the morning, or around dusk. I do love flower photography that's a literal representation, but my heart yearns to capture flowers as you would encounter them in a dream.
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For these images, I used the Lensbaby Muse with stacked 8mm and 16mm macro converters. I got the soft focus images I crave which lend themselves beautifully to creating artistic fine art pieces. These will eventually be sold as prints, cards and painted canvases.
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Those of you who've never used a Lensbaby may not know that the Muse is aptly named. You lose automated focus from the camera and you must find the sweet spot of focus by squeezing and shifting the lens itself. Let's call it being inspired to capture what you're seeing with your eye, but to render it to a digital dreamscape. You have to be okay with soft images, as the Muse lens isn't really meant to capture super crisp shots. This lens is really about photographic poetry, rather than photographic journalism. It's not for everyone, but it's good food for my artist's soul.
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Once I spent several days shooting in my garden, I worked on my favorite images in Photoshop, playing with each one until its story revealed itself to me. I wanted the finished pieces to seem like dreamy watercolors, as a contrast to the absolute nightmare of the last few months of Covid.
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This artwork will form the basis of my photography business for the near future, until I can open again for portrait and headshot sessions in a new state.
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I hope you enjoy the images & thanks for looking.
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