Debra is a graduate of a digital photography program at the Rhode
Island School of Design. In addition, she has earned a B.A. in
Communications and a B.S. in Criminal Justice.
Debra’s photographic experience is based in film, but before she ever
captured her own images with a slr camera, she was trained in the
darkroom at her college by her first mentor John Morytko. He was
a one man show, for the whole college, with very particular standards.
Accompanying John to various events, she grew very strong and careful
while toting lots of delicate, heavy equipment. Debra learned
that a photographer should have a large personality and arm strength to
match.
In the darkroom, Debra learned that only half of photography is the
initial capture. Developing is an art in itself. Even with
film, it was possible to turn a less than perfect negative into an
outstanding image. This whole process fascinated Debra — she
became obsessed in mastering this art.
Yet it was ten years and three children later before Debra actually
learned the actual how to’s of photography with the ever so
patient,
enthusiastic and encouraging Kathy Rose. With John, Debra
learned about the fast pace, people working, and immense amount of
equipment involved in properly capturing an event. While Kathy exposed
her to a myriad of film photographic techniques and how they
could be utilized as a form of artistic expression.
Debra has since embraced digital capture and processing,tthough she
feels strongly that it was her darkroom and film based knowledge that
is so intensely easing her mastery, fascination and understanding of
this new and evolving technology. After ten years of
wholesaling the art of her brother–in–law Dana Gaines through
their company Outermost Graphics, she decided to pursue this interest
full time.
Today, Debra’s intention is to capture a moment in time and project it
exactly as it was seen. In the pursuit of everyday life, Debra’s
spirit will be moved by something so greatly, that she knows she has to
photograph it. These images are not often pre–planned.
She sees what moves her, captures it and then sits and watches it for a
while, feeling it. Every image she projects has a feel, a scent,
a memory attatched to it; the daisies blowing in the wind, while the
horses obliviously munch away; the dense fog, isolating
Debra from the environment, while the boats remain eerily
still; the empty beach, with the most gorgeous sunset ever
seen. These images all have a story, a feel to them.
These moments, preserved in time, intertwined with the depth of feeling
and beauty they possess, are what move and inspire Debra.
These are the moments that she offers to you today and sincerely thanks you for sharing and appreciating them along with her.
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