Meet your artist TRACEY PERRIN

Christchurch New Zealand

Website: https://traceyperrinartisticphotography.co.nz/ https://faerietasticphotography.co.nz/ https://artistsdownunder.com.au/artists-1/christina-brunton/

1. Tell us a little about yourself and where you live?

I live in Christchurch, New Zealand, which is still recovering from the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes. I have beautiful mountains and scenery on my doorstep.

My passion for photography started back in the mid 1980s. Back then it was an extracurricular class and I did not have a SLR camera, and my family was unable to afford to buy one therefore I couldn’t join the class. I left school at the end of that year and went into the workforce and managed to buy my first camera. I did a few courses in photography so I could learn how to use my camera and develop my own black and white film. I used to carry around a notebook and would document my settings so I could look at them once my film was developed.

When digital cameras came out I got a cheap Fuji point and push camera which I played around with until I could afford a DSLR. Once I started using a DSLR camera I also became interested in learning how to use Photoshop, starting with Photoshop Elements until Adobe started the subscription based Creative Cloud.

2. How did you become interested/get started in Photo Artistry?

About 8 years ago I was inspired while watching the NZIPP IRIS Awards Creative category. This led me to research how to create composites. The journey into creative photography led me to Photo Artistry and other online creative learning platforms such as Brooke Shaden, Karen Alsop, Creativelive and Youtube etc.

3. What inspires you or gives you inspiration to create your art?

Photography has been a passion of mine for so long, I think about photography and edit photos in Photoshop pretty much everyday! I get inspired by many things, nature is one, especially birds! This has become a new passion of mine since I bought my Sigma 150-600mm lens. It is pretty much the only lens I have on my camera these days and I carry it in my car everywhere I go. I also find inspiration through different Facebook groups like Artists Down Under and The Awake Group.

4. Do you have a certain approach to creating your art?

Sometimes I do have an approach when creating my art, it will always start with the bird. I will often have an idea after going through my photos.

I like to capture all the elements of my images myself, preferring not to use stock images.I even create my own brushes and textures which I paint. This means I can also enter into competitions. Last year I won the champion image in the North Shore Salon, which was a great surprise!

When it came to creating the 3 Amigos composite, I had an idea in mind. I started by opening up the three images of the Royal Spoonbills dropping and dragging two of the images into the first image. I then played around with the arrangement of the birds, using a rough mask. After this the rest of the image came together. Not all of my images start like this, sometimes I start with a blank layer and start with the background elements.

5. What does your art mean to you?

Art is who I am, even from a young age I remember getting lost in drawing and colouring. I have a need to create and express myself. My mood often comes through, when I am feeling low my images have a darker feel to them and vice versa for my lighter images. I can become completely lost in my creations and will lose track of time.

6. Do you think since starting in photo artistry it has changed you and if so, how?

Since I started creating my composites I have become more focussed and connected to my images. I now also have goals I want to achieve.

7. Is there anyone that you draw inspiration from?

I draw a lot of my inspiration from nature, especially birds and I am lucky enough to live so close to some great estuaries and wetlands which have a wide variety of birds. I also get inspiration from some of the wonderful artists in the Awake Group and Artists Down Under Facebook pages.

8. Where do you see (or hope to see) your art taking you in the future ? What are your next steps?

I have just had a couple of my images in a gallery and sold my first one, so in the future I would like to sell more of my work and have more exhibitions.