Transcending Photography

With Maureen Shaughnessy

By Irina Souiki

Some people are happy with photographs coming straight out of the camera and could never envision altering them. Other people take photographs with a vision in mind and will tweak them in post processing until they obtain the desired result. There is no right or wrong in Art. Art is whatever we define it to be.

Just ask Maureen. A talented artist falling into the second category, she works in mediums that cross each other's borders; compiling powerful images fueled by her imagination, emotions and dreams. If she could make her images sing, I'm sure she would but even without a voice, these images speak to us like Braille for the eye. A glimpse into Maureen's mind, they give a vision of her soulful essence, and our own imaginations can take clues from the pictures and use them to re-create Maureen's original story or give birth to a new one of their own design.

That's my take on things, but for this Cool Shot feature, let's hear Mauren's side of the story:

Can you tell us a few facts about yourself and your art?

I'm a real person with laundry to do, pies to bake, kids, pets, a husband and my own landscape design business. I have a background in science, graphic design and fine arts. I sing and make music. I write everyday. Art and photography get squeezed in between the other stuff, but they are as important as breathing and eating. I'm over 50. My husband and I live in Montana. My siblings and mom live in British Columbia. We have 5 adult kids scattered across the globe.

Do you have a photographic style or favorite subject?

I speak through my art. Not two people have exactly the same voice. There are different inflections, accents and vocabularies. Style islike that - we each have a unique style that can be defined not only by how you express yourself (speaking) but also by how you look at the world. And those things are constantly changing and moving as we have different life experiences. I hope people can feel the soul in my images. Mostly, I try to express the beauty and uniqueness of every single thing.

It's hard to say that I have a favorite subject. I look for metaphor, symbolism, movement, rhythm, emotion, honesty, spirit. I like to look underneath the surface of everything, - just about any photographic subject - situations, people, objects. Sometimes when I'm working on a particular concept I look for certain things: textures, colors, shapes, line ... other times I'll go out specifically to shoot examples of elements I'm missing in a particular piece - say, light, or shadows, or toys, or just sky.

I love photographing my husband and children, and our dog, Sam, who is almost 17 -- way older than most large dogs get to be. Every day with him is a day we weren't sure we would have. He's my constant companion so it's a challenge not to let familiarity interfere with the freshness of my photos of Sam. I am trying to capture his wise, old-dog essence.

What inspired you to create this piece of digital art?

I listen to the things that come into my consciousness each day. I pay attention to synchronicity. This piece began when a particular feeling - grief - collided with a phrase that has always bothered me: "A bird in hand is worth two in the bush." I would rather hear the bird in the bush, watch it quietly than hold the small creature in my hand where her fright would make her into something she is not. Something caged by my fingers and by desire. In my mind, the bird in hand became connected to how we often express grief - by holding on. I wanted to express the opposite of that - letting go.

For me, the shadow bird symbolizes flight, freedom, letting go. The image of a branch curving gracefully over a frozen lake is the downward arc of a star or a contrail in the wake of a jet. I needed something to pull it together, a context and some texture. The map gave me both. It is the journey, the passionate and sorrowful trail one's soul takes through grief.

Can you share with us the technical details involved in the making of this collage?

I used Photoshop to create layers and manipulate the levels, saturation, hues and color balance. As I usually do, I blended several layers to get the look and feel I wanted. This piece has at least 20 layers -- one was the curving branch, which I inverted to make it look like a streak of light. I also inverted the hand-shadow. I rotated the leaf image, enlarged it and made it a blended layer.

Would it be possible to show us the separate bits and pieces you used in the collage?

Sure, I put them all in a set on Flickr. they're here:

If you were to make this collage again, what would you change about it?

I'm still working with the idea that inspired this collage. I would say it's a series in progress. I might simplify this collage a bit. There is too much of the map (texture) and I'm not wild about the colors.

How did your viewers respond to your digital art in comparison with traditional photography?

I'm not sure - some of my digital art (as opposed to lightly manipulated photos) might make some viewers a little uncomfortable. Maybe I don't get as much feedback on those as I do on my "pretty pictures," but I expect that. I'm trying to stir things up as well as express something personal. I don't expect many to respond to the more personal work I do.

Do you take pictures with the goal of altering them?

Sometimes. Mostly I don't think while I'm shooting. I like to get out of the way of my intuition. For me, too much pre-planning makes my photos a little less alive, a little dull. I'm not good at "directing" like some photographers are.

What is your definition of a cool shot?

An image that gets under my skin. That gets into my throat, my heart, my head. A photo that keeps coming back to mind, that makes me really think. An image that makes me catch my breath or feel something deeply. A photo that makes me itch. I'm not always this serious. Sometimes I see images like Jean Albus' fishnet stockings and Kenneth Cole shoes and I burst out laughing -- her shots are definitely cool. That series of hers pops into my head at really odd times. Like when I'm brushing my teeth. Those are cool shots.

Thank you Maureen for your honest and insightful answers. There is defintely much to learn from your vision And now, I will let our readers discover other masters of digital art, all surprising and utterly "cool". Their imagination has no limit, hence I give you the links to their entire sets.