R. Scott Stahl

I am a photographer because I enjoy it, and it gives me pleasure. My work has allowed me to experience many beautiful things, and portray them from my point of perception. These experiences continue to bring pleasure to my work. I recently saw a quote from Mikhail Baryshnikov that stated: "The essence of all art is to have pleasure in giving pleasure". My goal is to refine my skills to a higher level, so that I will be able to give more pleasure to my audience through my photography.

Most of my projects are based on a theme: landscape, nature, architecture, people, or any combination. These themes determine the dominant technique and materials to be used. Once I decide on a theme, then I determine what materials and techniques will be utilized. If I decide to shoot lakes, lagoons, and rivers, there is a strong possibility that I will use a watercolor technique to process the images. This technique will require specific paper and the utilization of effects in Photoshop and Painter. This is a normal method based on the theme. If the theme changes, so does the technique and the materials.

As a fine art landscape photographer, I know there is beauty in every state in this country. My original plan was to visit every state in the country and photograph things that represented a community's pride in their area. However, I have started to move in a direction a little different for me. I would like to pick a group of three different towns, in three different states, and visit the residents of those communities. I want to try to spend time with them, and ask what makes them stay. Why don't they consider moving on to other places? I would also like to interview the new people in town, to find out what prompted the move into town. I would like to find out what makes their home so special to them, and attempt to reinforce those words with photographs. This decision was made while thinking about how many beautiful places I have visited that are surrounded by small, and usually, friendly communities. I make decisions based on what I might want to do, and then consider my audiences, and what they might be interested in seeing. This will hopefully be the beginning of a collection of regional coffee table books. I think it would be interesting to the local residents, but could be welcomed by similar people through out the country.