Research

-Photographer Research-

 Deborah Barnes

7 Images

White Rock 

2013 

Digital Camera
This photo was of an Arbutus tree in White Rock. I thought it was very artistic the way she focused on the flowers in the middle of the photo, while everything else in the image is out of focus. One weakness would the colour, she could have enhanced the colour a bit more to make it more defined. 

 Victoria Island

2011

Minolta 110 Zoom SLR

I really liked this image of two bunnies under a tree on Victoria Island, the way she edited it with the dark shadows around the edges really made it easy to see what she wanted focused in this image. I think the idea of this photo was to make it as intriguing as possible. 

 Langley, BC 

2012

Minolta 110 Zoom SLR

This image of a cat is very captivating and artistic, especially because of the way she edited the eyes to look like they had a whole other universe in them. The eyes look like a bottomless ocean. One weakness could be the background. It could have been a bit brighter to show the cat's outline a bit more.

 Surrey, BC 

2010

Pentax Auto 110
I really enjoyed this photo of eight ducklings walking through the woods. Deb captured the moment perfectly as the ducklings went for a stroll. The way she edited the background to make it look darker than the ducklings made it easy to tell what was meant to be the focus of the image. A weakness in this photo would be that one of the ducks in the back was little bit blurred out, more so than the rest of the ducklings. 

 Tofino, BC

2010

Digital Camera

This was one of my favourite images. The angle, and the view in the photo was made it intriguing, mystical, and beautiful. The feeling this photo gave me was magical, like the feeling of being on top of the world. It was really creative how she focused on the trees, and let the mist in the back fade into the background. It looks like she could have been flying to take this image of the tree tops.

 Vancouver, BC

2011

Digital Camera
This image is really unique because of what it is containing. It looks almost as if we're standing right in front of the cheetah, with it just a few feet away. The way Deb edited this image was quite artistic, making the background simple, and drawing the focus of the image right to the cheetah. A weakness would be the brightness of the cheetah's body, because it doesn't really stand out against the grass. 

Whidbey Island

2012

Pentax Auto 110

This image of a sheep in front of a red barn on Whidbey Island was beautiful, and simple. I loved how everything but the sheep was blurred into the background. It was clear that the focus of the image was the sheep. I think the meaning of this photo was that beauty can be found in the simplest of things, like in an ordinary sheep, or a rundown old barn. 

Langley, BC
2011
Pentax Auto 110
This was another one of my favourite images. How she took the picture, with the sun shining from behind the horse, made it look majestic and enchanting. The lighting really brought out the beauty of this image. It was interesting how she captured different angles and features of the horse's face. 


Image of Photographer

Deborah Barnes



~Written Review~

I think Deb Barnes' work is all very based on nature and animals and the outdoors. Her images are taken of whatever catches her eye, and the beauty she see in it. The way she edits the photos makes a beautiful, and captivating photo out of a simple image. Her strengths are in how she captures the moment perfectly, and edits it to look the best it can. When I look at her photos, it's hard to see that it's been edited at all, because all the colours are so real and natural. 

~Interview~

1. Where were you born? 

I was born in Portland Oregon, in 1957.  My parents were the first black/white marriage in Oregon.  No one would let them buy a house so they moved to Canada.

2.Where did you grow up?

I grew up in Port Moody, BC.  Very small blue collar town at the time.  We were the only black family there.  My back yard was the forest and my front yard was the ocean.  no tv until I was about 10.  Almost all my time was outdoors...I had forts everywhere!

 3.Where did you go to school before you became interested in photography? 

I went to school in Port Moody.  Our High School was burned down(someone didn't want to write their exams!), and so went up the hill to Centennial in Coquitlam.  I was living on my own at that time and put myself through my last year of school by working at Reitman's.  I was crazy poor.  Ten years later I went to Simon Fraser and majored in Kinesiology.

4. Have you won any awards for photography? 

I have never entered my work into any competition.  I do have one of my images on a novel, a reprint of the old classic "White Fang" by Jack London.  http://www.amazon.ca/White-Fang-Jack-London/dp/0985172142

5. What type of equipment do you use for taking photos? (Camera, tripod, lens, etc...)

NikonD7000; Manfroto heavy duty tripod; Nikkor 24-120/1:4; Nikkor 50/1:4; AF-S VR-Nikkor 70-200/ 2:8; as well as a variety of diopters, filters, Gary Fong Lightsphere, Metz 44AF-1 Digital flash for Nikon

6. A detailed discription of your work and your general photographic practices. (Digital, film, photoshop...)?

When I shoot it is all about capturing an animal's spirit.  To capture a little extra something that will draw the viewer in.  I want the viewer to see the magic I see whenever I look at any animal.  When I go to a shoot...I know that I may get a magic shot, I may not.  As I work only with natural lighting and the whim of whatever the animal is feeling at the time, almost everything is left to chance.  My job is to be ready when the magic happens!  I don't go into any shoot with a preconceived idea...only a general purpose...ie: I want a head shot, a movement shot, a body shot...and then I wait to see what unfolds.  I sometimes use my flash as a fill, but rarely....I really like to stick with natural light, and make that work for me.  I started with Film many years ago.  I worked with a Minolta for many years, then moved on to my first digital camera, not too long ago because it was so expensive to process film.  That was a Nikon d100.  LOVED the freedom that digital gave me and I became a maniac photographer!!  hahahah!!  I've been working in PhotoShop for about 15+ years, and have become quite adept at bringing out even more in my images.  I think of PhotoShop as this brilliant artistic enhancer...I can take my images to a new place..often you won't be able to tell I've photoshopped an image...it's just somehow more compelling.

I continue to take photography courses and photoshop courses (I"ve even attended the PhotoShop World conference in Vegas!) to up my skill level.  My favorite thing to do, is to just head out with my camera, where I know there are going to be animals...ANY kind!  and just watch and capture.  bliss!

7. What got you interested in photography? My first camera was a little Brownie that I got for Christmas when I was ten.  My mom was an amazing artist and photographer and I wanted to grow up to be as talented as she was.  That's not what happened, but that's what got me started!

8. What is your inspiration for your photos? 

Animals.  Love.  Inter-species connection.  The idea that we are all one.  One big giant organism that is this earth, this world - and that what connects us is our hearts, our breath, our lives..  Animals for whatever reason have always torn at my heartstrings...maybe because nothing they do is tangled up with "words".  Almost every photo I have ever taken has an animal in it...all the way back to when I was just a kid learning.  My travels to Mexico, Russia, Finland...you'd never be able to tell what country I was in...no landscapes or landmarks...just photos of the animals I met along the way! 

9. How long do you plan on going on in this business? 

I have recently changed my approach and am no longer taking on any new clients. (or only very special ones!)  I want to do more of my own vision, and not need to worry about satisfying anyone else's needs.  Right now my visions are all in my head!  But they involve, animals/birds/insects; layers; photoshop/different media; and large scale.  In the end I will have arresting fine-art images, and show my work in galleries world wide.  That's the plan!

10. Who is a photographer that inspired you to do what you do the most? 

love love love Annie Liebowitz!!  the lighting, the moods, the vision.  I don't want to do what she does...but I love the freedom she gives herself to create.  Tony Stromberg probably has the closest examples similar to the images that rest in my mind!

~My Images~