Artist Statement

Charlotte Donaldson

I use photography as a means to understand and document the world around me. My photographs call attention to the beauty in ordinary things that are often overlooked. This exploration of the familiar allows me to engage more deeply with the present moment. My goal is to create photographs that draw viewers into the present. My daily life is naturally exploring the world through a potential camera lens. Photography also provides an avenue to meet people I would not ordinarily meet, to understand their perspective of the world as I am capturing their environment and/or portrait. Photographing is a form of meditation for me, as I am totally engulfed in the moment.

My passion for photography has many aspects: documentary; informal portraits, close-ups, equestrian foxhunting, animals and landscapes. I am also interested in creating abstracts from the ordinary. Knowing a great deal about my subject matter and being able to “capture the moment” of animals and birds has been a great sport.

I grew up on a horse farm in southeast Pennsylvania. Farm work and riding was a large part of my childhood, and it continues to influence my photography. This is seen in my many rural landscapes and older, more historic farms. Shooting skeet when I was younger has helped me capturing birds flying midair. Growing up in an equestrian family and foxhunting since I was eight has helped with my ability to know where the fox may be lurking.

My many travels and time spent in different areas has organically influenced my photography. Living in Vermont on an equestrian farm for thirty years and spending time in Maine and also in the Caribbean has sparked an interest in wildlife as well as their landscapes and seascapes.

Traveling to Africa on photographic safaris has allowed me to capture some spectacular shots of the animal kingdom. Every day is an adventure in the bush and one can never know what to expect. You are living in the moment where your schedule may change in an instant while tracking animals for the perfect shot.

Traveling to Peru and Costa Rica, as well as Europe brings even more adventure and exposures to my cameras images. I love capturing each countries hidden treasures.

My focus on photography has been more about the challenge of each shot. It is only now that I have the time to go back through my photographs and bring them to print so that they can be appreciated by others.