Dianne Schaefer
The Light You Cannot See
Looking for new ways to make images, I became interested in alternative photographic processes. Although I always find myself attracted to a similar kind of subject matter: old abandoned buildings, and houses, things old and forgotten, I wanted new ways to see it. Infrared, photography shows the world in different ways. Infrared light is just beyond the visible spectrum, so the human eye cannot see it. You can have a camera converted to infrared, by having the sensor changed. When you are looking through the viewfinder it will look the same as always, but the camera will see it differently, so the result is always a surprise. I like the mystery.
When taking photographs using infrared cameras, we are exposed to a world that can often look very different from that we are accustomed to seeing. Colors, textures, leaves and plants, human skin, buildings and other objects can reflect infrared light in unique and interesting ways. The results are sometimes ominous, and sometimes, fanciful and airy. Skies become dark and clouds take on special emphasis. Sometimes the image appears grainy. Plants can appear light or white. I like the drama of these images in black and white. In this series I am looking both at both landscape and architectural subjects.
This is the beginning of a journey I hope to continue.
Artist Bio
Dianne Schaefer came to photography from a world of book publishing and design. In bookwork, you are always looking for the right images to illustrate text, enforcing a critical eye toward photography and sequencing. She has always been drawn to old deteriorating buildings and objects that are uncared for. In architecture she finds shapes reflections and shadows. The textures of old wood, or stone become works of art in themselves. Her background in graphic design, influences her, by forcing her always try to simplify what she sees. By focusing on details the subject itself becomes a mystery.
Schaefer has a BA in Art History from Wheaton College, Norton, MA. She has taken workshops with Costa Manos in Provincetown, MA; Henry Hornstein at Maine Media Workshops; Linde Waidhofer in Mexico, and Santa Fe; Sue Ann Hodges at New England School of Photography and has participated in Photography Atelier at the Griffin Museum, and at Lesley University. She taught Photoshop to high school teachers in Dedham, MA and assisted Holly Smith Pedlosky teaching Photoshop and large format printing classes at Art institute of Boston.
Schaefer had a solo show at Uncas Farm Gallery, Maine, entitled Edith’s Room, in 2003, included black and white images of a friend’s farmhouse in Maine, and has been a part of many juried group shows. NESOP Gallery One 2002; New England Book Show 2003; Jaffrey (NH) Civic Center 2001, 2003; Photography Atelier, Radcliffe Seminars, 2000-2002; Photography Atelier; Lesley Seminars, 2004; 2006; Cambridge Art Association, Heat; 2004 Member’s Juried, 2005; Concord Art Association, Rodie Juried, 2004, 2005; Show, 2006; Members II Juried Show, 2006; Panopticon Gallery, Waltham; Trees Juried, 2005; Brush Gallery, Lowell, MA Juried, 2006; Cambridge Art Association The Way We Live, 2006; Arlington Center for the Arts, Images of Arlington, 2006 (Spirit of Arlington Award); Rockport Art Association, New England Juried Show, Rockport, MA 2011; Rocky Neck Cultural Center in Gloucester, MA and the Griffin Museum of Photography in Winchester, MA. – Atelier shows 2012-15. Her work has sold at the PRC Auction. Schaefer has a book, Crummett Mountain Farm, in the Exhibit Photobooks 2014, which has been shown at the Davis-Orton Gallery, and at the Griffin Museum. Her work is in many local collections.
As a realtor in Cambridge and the surrounding areas she is always on the lookout for new subject matter while scouting homes for clients. She is on the Arlington Historical Commission, and the Board of Directors of the Griffin Museum of Photography, in Winchester, MA.
http://www.diannejaquithschaeferphotography.com
Contact Dianne Schaefer