About Me
Galatea and I welcome you to our site. I’m Photographer J. Gonzalez and on my lap is my incredibly rambunctious and spoiled 5-year-old dachshund, Galatea. I have a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, and I am currently working towards a Master of Fine Arts, both in photography. Inspired by great photographers like Ansel Adams when I was in high school, I learned through studying his and others’ work how the symbiotic relationship between light and shadows creates a work of art. However, the countless hours I spent in my school’s wet darkroom and later in a makeshift darkroom I set up in a walk-in closet at my parents’ house moved my interest from simply appreciating others’ work to a decade’s long passion.
Although Ansel Adams’s work influenced my appreciation for landscape photography, my passion for photography is not limited to the outdoors. I have grown as a photographer throughout the years, expanding my creative interest. Robert Mapplethorpe’s excellent command of light moved me to create still-life images, and other photographers who create work with an abstract undertone moved me in that direction. Recently my work has been inspired by Jan Grover, specifically how she layered objects to create depth and the relationship between the object’s color and shapes and the space they occupy in the frame.
Yes, landscape will always interest me; it’s rewarding to share a unique perspective with those familiar with the scene and equally, if not more so, to show someone who has never seen that small part of the world my perspective as seen through my photographer’s eye. However, the same is true for all other genres with regards to my unique perspective. My still life work uses shadows and highlights to emphasize the subject; or its form, for my work that leans towards abstract. With my abstracts, I hope they move you to question two things, how it was created and what was captured. While some of my images’ subject matter is more obvious than others, the process of studying an image to make sense of it is one of the most enjoyable aspects when looking at abstracts. But whatever genre, the play between light and shadow is how I express my creative vision, which I hope will show you a new perspective.
Gala and I thank you for visiting. Please comment, critique, or ask any questions if you so desire.
