Andrea Polk

 I’ve had a camera in my hand since I was a teenager. While majoring in linguists at Georgetown University, I also attended art and photography classes at the Corcoran School of Art. To earn tuition money I worked in high-end professional color darkrooms, specializing in Cibachrome. 

 

 The resulting “direct positive“ prints were unique for their rich saturation and high resolution. The images are almost vibrantly metallic and magical.

 

Along with the early Pictorial Movement photographers, who aspired to make photography more painterly, I admire the colorist Ernst Haas and the work of Annie Leibovitz.

 

Always at the forefront of innovative creative technology, photography underwent a major transformation when it shifted from “analog “ techniques to the use of digital tools.

 

The darkroom may be a thing of the past, but in fact few images have ever been presented unaltered. New editing applications allow the photographer fascinating possibilities and potential, and have helped make photography an art form accessible to all.

 

I’m drawn to color, pattern and ambiguity. Some images tell a story while others are a means of showing design or color for its own sake.

 

My camera has taken me through Europe, Asia, Northern Africa, and Central America, looking

for images with balance, color and structure. If these compositions appeal to the viewer as well that’s very gratifying.