Photographer Frances Litman, who had a long career in media, decided it was best to venture out into the creative world alone and for the last 25 years, she hasn’t looked back.
“It’s that a picture’s worth a thousand words, and when I realized it suited my energy level better than writing, although I still do a lot of writing, and that it could say so much in an image I was hooked.”
Although her specialty has been photographing people for many years, her upcoming show at The Gallery at Brentwood Bay’s Village Empourium will feature mostly artistic landscape phtographic impressions.
“A lot of these are landscapes and artsy impressions of different types of landscapes,” she said, adding that most are taken from the region’s coastline and in area forests.
Litman began her career working in the media, later branching out on her own after her 18-year career.
“It just sort of evolved. I put myself through university, but I also went to the Western Academy of Photography which was brand new at that point. We were like the first or second graduating class,” she said.
Her portfolio from school went on to win best student portfolio and best overall portfolio. She also won just about all the major awards, catching the attention of the judges, many of which were magazine editors.
She was then able to get lots of work producing commercial work and doing portraits.
The majority of her photography has been of people but has since switched to focus mainly on nature.
“What inspires me really is now at this point in my career is the natural world … where we live inspires me and so in my free time I like to photograph where I don’t have a subject that’s talking back to me,” she said with a laugh.
Litman said she very much works in the moment and she owes her training from her years of composition and film-based work.
“So back in those days you got it right in the camera because Photoshop didn’t exist in those days, so you did the best you could in the camera,” she said.
Litman said she doesn’t think a lot about what she’s taking photos of, as it’s sort of engrained in her — but it also has a very professional yet unique quality to it.
“People tell me they can recognize my style,” she said.
Since leaving her media days behind, Litman has been lucky to have never been without work.
“I’ve just had a really full career. I’ve travelled internationally with my career. I’ve spoken at major conferences all over the world … I guess it’s just that whole community of people who are interested in beauty.”
Litman will begin moving in the direction of teaching workshops and will be moving into doing more workshops and different creative play shops.
Her work will be at The Gallery at Brentwood Bay Village Empourium from Feb. 5 to Mar. 9 for viewing and for sale.
