Inside the Photo #33
Talking with Penny Taylor
Hey hey folks! Happy Tuesday! Great to see you here again and let me welcome all the new friends who have joined this small community.
As usual, each month begins with a brand new Inside the Photo. And this is no different.
Today’s guest is a fantastic photographer, very skilled and with so much to tell.
Here you go, in her words, meet Penny Taylor:
I was born and raised in Toronto, Canada where I’ve lived throughout my life. My late father’s dedication to his journey in the visual arts field inspired me to develop my own voice through the documenting of travel and urban environments.
Music was my first passion, in fact I went on to get a degree in Piano Performance at Mount Allison University, and kept myself even busier playing viola in various local orchestras as well for many years.
My love of photography started with a passed down Brownie box camera. At the age of nine years old, I saw a print of the renowned 1941 Roaring Lion B&W portrait of Winston Churchill, shot by our then New Canadian Yousef Karsh. This iconic portrait sitting in a studio window fascinated me, and so began my love affair with B&W imagery.
A loaned Canon AE-1 was the start of my journey in 35mm film photography. For the next fifteen years, I also dabbled in infrared imagery with a Hasselblad xPan and eventually settled in with my trusty Nikon F90, which was my vessel for B&W film exclusively. During these years, my work was represented by ibid., a former B&W stock house in Chicago. It was a lucrative time to be shooting stock, as having one’s work accepted and represented in those years by a quality film stock house in the United States was no mean feat. It was such a pleasure to see my work on international ad campaign tear sheets, for companies such as KPMG, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, AmSouth Bank and Microsoft amongst others. Eventually, in the interest of approaching galleries for representation, I took a photography portfolio course with a talented, no-nonsense professional, who had us eating humble pie in every class. Amongst other valuable things, we learnt about the benefits of humility in the photography world (and in general) and I firmly believe that his brand of tough love made all of us better photographers and people.
For me, what matters the most is an eye to see the potential of subject matter first. Gear comes second, always. One can’t buy an eye. When I’m out with my camera, I shoot what people walk by without seeing, and that continues to be the very essence of my inspiration. I enjoy challenging the eye of my viewers, through framing or capturing the fractal quality of my subject matter itself. Since the early 2000’s I’ve embraced the digital world by using a less-weighty DSLR and my omnipresent iPhone Pro Max. After years of experiencing the fear of missing out, by hauling heavy gear around with a multitude of camera backs, tripods and far too many lens options, my back is infinitely happier.
It was the booking of an extended photography safari in Botswana many years ago with its beautiful light, wildlife and landscapes which motivated me to start shooting cibachrome and colour print film. Since then, my work has been published in various periodicals, including a travel piece in British Vogue, and has also appeared in three compilate volumes of minimal and street photography published in Portugal. My appreciation of the nuance of B&W imagery has never diminished though, as it was my first love, after all.
Prior to venturing into publishing, in twelve years I mounted six solo exhibitions in Toronto, Canada as well as internationally, the most notable being Art Basel of Miami, where four of my images were included in a group show mounted by an invited New York City gallery. My fine art images were also exhibited at and represented by Tatar|Alexander Photogallery, ValenArt & Associates, and the Archive Gallery in Toronto, Aperture Gallery in the U.K., Barebulb Galleries of South Africa and in invited galleries worldwide with Gurushots. For the past ten years, my B&W and colour images have been regularly featured in global Instagram galleries and international forums.
Viewing the beautiful work of my fellow photographers continues to inspire me. As a RAW/Snap Hall of Fame Member, a seven-year hub Moderator on Instagram’s RAW Community and Vero’s Snap Community for the past five years, as well as a four-year Founder/Admin on two hubs with the Poetry Family Community on Instagram, nothing gives me greater pleasure than to celebrate this work of others by re-posting it in these communities as features for all viewers.
Now, have a look at Penny’s gallery: every single image is full of elements (even the minimalistic ones) that perfectly blend together. Each image feels natural. And that’s because, like she says, we, as subjects, are naturally immersed into a broader beauty. What she does in an excellent way is to frame her pictures in a way that this becomes clear to everyone.
I just love it.
As primarily an urban diarist, my images often show people immersed in their own moments, unaware of their broader environment. Like actors on a stage, my subjects’ world and their part in it is captured in a split second. What I often photograph shows my viewers that we can be part of a greater integrated beauty in any moment. My photography can also delve into minimalism in whatever form that takes.
I made this minimal image at a time when the world was in the sad and very real throes of the pandemic. What strange and overwhelming years those were, full of quiet soul-seeking introspection and confusion. For me, this moment taking place in front of me said everything about the loneliness of isolation, the fears, the frustrations, and the utter sorrow experienced by so many of us during this sobering time. When remaining little pleasures, in this case something as simple as being able to sit in a chair to enjoy a view of the lake were stripped away from us. Yet, despite those restrictions on this particular day, Nature prevailed and had other plans for me, in creating this incredible blueness of sky for true beauty to appreciate.
The pandemic brought the world to its knees, and, for so many people, there was no recovery. I was one of the lucky ones, fortuitously never catching COVID-19 myself, so I had the time while working remotely to also return to early morning distance cycling to get myself in a better physical, mental and spiritual place. This time was also a chance to observe the population from afar, as tiny characters enveloped by something so much bigger than us.
I think everyone who lived those times will always remember what isolation means. And this is, once more, a document of a difficult period where humanity had to reinvent itself.
What a stunning picture.
As always, I highly recommend you check Penny’s social links and give her a follow.
Thank you so much, Penny, for sharing this with us today!
Take care and talk soon!
Matteo, enjoyed reading Penny Taylor’s journey from musician to photography artist.
Love the shot, so much potential even in lockdown