Featured Artist Karen Glosser

Photographer Karen Glosser captures the powerful beauty of Lake Erie, creating stunning visual imagery of the lake and its surrounding landscape. To see more of her portfolio, visit her website.

 

 

As I sit down to write this artist page with a white sheet of paper in front of me, I glance up, out the window, at a white sheet of snow, silently falling. Giant snow globe flakes. You know—the almost unreal, only-in-the-movies kind. Swirling down, quietly but rapidly covering everything in their path.

 

 

Lake effect. Growing up here in Western New York State, it was a term I was so aware of. We lived maybe twenty-five miles away from Lake Erie, but I knew her power so well. What kid doesn’t love a number of snow days every school year? More time to get outside! That was just the beginning of my love for Lake Erie and for all of the bountiful natural wonder found here in Western New York.

 

 

As I grew, my life took me in a different direction. However, my love of nature and a longing to express myself creatively remained.

 

 

With more time on my hands as our son grew, I returned to a love of nature and creativity as a jewelry designer and metalsmith. I took photos of natural things that inspired my work, and soon my images took on a life of their own. Photography is now my primary means of visual expression.

 

 

I enjoy traveling and photographing new places, but creating images of my home area of Western New York and Lake Erie is still my great love. A colorful woodland at the peak of autumn. A blue-sky summer day at a favorite Lake Erie beach.

 

 

The pulse-racing excitement of this Great Lake’s powerful waves in a November gale. These are the things that mesmerize me and that will always make me reach for my camera in order to capture and create.

 

 

As for the gear I use and my techniques, truthfully, I am not a “gear gal.” I use two camera bodies and two lenses. These are my workhorses; mid-range and not the latest models.

 

 

I love the challenge of seeing how far I can push the gear I own to create images that reflect a sense of place, and that also portray my vision and feelings of a particular moment as I press the shutter release. I often enjoy working with in-camera multiple exposures, slow shutter speeds, and intentional camera movement to create an image that expresses my vision.

 

 

Working in a series comes very naturally to me. Aside from my day to day photography, I am currently working on two series. Coming Home, a series of woodland images, and a series entitled Soulscape: Reflections on Lake Erie. Over a year in the making, this lake project will become a solo exhibition. However, I know that neither of these series will ever truly be finished.

 

 

I will always be drawn to the challenge of capturing Lake Erie and her ever changing moods, and to the woodland areas near my home that bring me such peace and joy.

 

Artist Karen Glosser invites you to follow her on Facebook and Instagram.

 

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