Photo © Seeing Is

Welcome to our Tenth Epigona.

It has been said that imitation is the most sincere form of flattery. Imitation is also how intelligent beings learn and grow throughout childhood and beyond. Art students have always apprenticed with teacher/artists, often imitating their work repeatedly until they had absorbed and understood a particular style, not only in their minds, but in their beings.

Each month we will honor and emulate a different (and sometimes well-known) photographer. The title of the project,"Epigona", is the plural form of the word Epigone: "one who is a follower, disciple or imitator of a well known artist, or style". We'll all have a chance to pay homage and to learn from great photographers, many of which will be pulled directly from Utata Editor's Greg Fallis' popular Sunday Salon series.

This month's artist for our consideration and emulation is Beth Dow. In Greg's original Salon he discusses Dow's style of photographing landscape as simple and elemental, and often shot at a time of year when a particular landscape would be at it's most barren.

Emulating her skillful control of dynamic form, tonality and simplicity may be more challenging that some of us anticipate. Some art seems so simple that we are tempted to think "I could do that". Soon we shall see, as we have with each Epigona project, if we actually can.

Reviewers make note of her poetic and timeless view of nature, and of her dreamy but potent images, which simultaneously display the presence of both infinity and singularity; this is no small feat.