AFM: What is your style of photography?
CLR: I process my Fine Art photographs using HDR, which is High Dynamic Range. Shooting for HDR allows me to capture every range of light in the photograph therefore allowing me bring out what is already present in the scene as far as depth, detail and highlights. I then print Giclees on canvas and the results are stunning. With this process being new and different there is still some push back against HDR but I look at it like it is another tool in my toolbox and we are so fortunate to live in a time where we as artists have so many wonderful tools available to us. I always keep my favorite Ansel Adams quote in mind; 'The negative is the score, the print is the performance, and as a photographer and artist, you have the opportunity to use a variety of tools at every step to create a print that achieves your vision' – wise words from the Master!
AFM: What goal do you want instilled in your photos?
CLR: I want my passion for the West and Southwest to shine through and I want to inspire people by what I see and feel to get out and explore this amazing world that we live in. So much of the nostalgic West & Southwest is disappearing and I feel like it is my mission to document it through my photographs and capture the essence of what makes the American West so unique. I love sharing the legend and lore of this area and am sure I had to be a cowboy in one my lives.
AFM: Is it hard doing this on your own?
CLR: Well yes and no, I do not have security like some other artists, so I have had to work just a little bit harder which is not a bad thing. I am like the lone wolf out there, I like to travel and shoot alone, which boggles people minds sometimes, but I get my best work done when I am solo. I love being a woman doing what I am doing because there is not a lot of [women] photographing such 'masculine' subject matter. I can see the looks on people's faces that walk into my Gallery and say; 'you photographed these things?' Throughout this process I did have to sacrifice relationships and give up a lot, but it has all been worth it. I am a very lucky girl to get to do what I do.
AFM: Why did you hang up your camera and call it quits?
CLR: There were a variety of reasons that I hung up my camera in 2003. 9-11 was a turning point for me as it was for so many and after chasing people up mountains for 17 years I was so not only burnt out but I was tired, not to mention the world was going digital, and I was still film based. I thought it was a good time to change directions and explore some other path in life even though I thought I would be shooting photos for the rest of my life. I thought I was done up until three years ago when I purchased a digital camera. I reluctantly took it on the road with me to see if I could 'make friends' with it and that is when I found a beautiful old red truck that changed everything for me [Dodge Bootlegger Truck photograph].
AFM: What launched your new photo series the Ghosts of the West? What does the series entail?
CLR: The Dodge Bootlegger Truck photo not only brought me back into the world of photography, but it slowly started my new photo series. My Ghosts of the West photo series is my way of bringing the West and Southwest back to life. The photos depict the legend and culture of the West and Southwest from Route 66, old trucks, wild horses, old cemeteries, trains, Native Americans and cowboys. If it has anything to do with the history of the West, you will find it in my "Ghosts of the West" photo series.
AFM: Do you have any other photo series that you are currently working on?
CLR: I have a new project that is an off shoot of the Ghosts of the West series, "Southwestern Spirituality", which will be my next book and Gallery exhibit. I am attracted to powerfully religious symbols like old churches, cemeteries and crosses throughout the Southwest and find them hauntingly beautiful. The inspiration for this next series was Ansel Adams Moonrise over Hernandez, New Mexico photo. I first saw it years ago and it captured my imagination.
