REVERIE

 by

Claire Wright

​

I am an avid nature explorer, a biologist by training and a rock climber by passion, so my photography is intimately connected to nature. I observe the essence of life, by capturing shapes, textures, patterns, and colors. My photographs can be close-ups or aerial shots, often puzzling to our naked eye, yet we sense their beauty and familiarity when revealed by the camera.

I have always been interested in what our human eyes can or cannot see. As a child, I loved using a microscope, and discovering rocks with polarized light. Very young, I had this intuition that there are things that our eyes cannot see, yet we can use tools to see them, and it’s ok to use those tools. When I became a biologist, I was fascinated by views that are invisible to the naked eye. The microscope coupled with a camera revealed a secret world, beautiful and utterly interesting.

For as long as I can recall, woods, fields, and mountains have been my refuge, the place I go to recenter, and to find comfort in beauty. Outside the lab, I was a passionate rock climber. I loved going up to reach a place where I could look down and watch birds of prey flying below my feet, where I could see forests like green oceans. I would bring a camera when I could to capture climbing actions and the improbable views. When the first commercial drones became available for a reasonable price, I imagined all the possibilities, the incredible views, the unique perspectives, so naturally I bought one. Each time I fly my drone, I am mesmerized by the wonders the camera can capture. Aerial photography, like macrophotography, transports me into a world with a scale of its own. A landscape from high up can become the inside of a cell, and a close-up of a leaf can be a city map. I don’t always see the final object/landscape while taking the picture: sometimes it uncovers its secret potential on my computer screen. 

My photography rarely tries to depict a realistic landscape or make a portrait of a staged living being. It captures an instant, a living being in motion (animal or human), an ephemerous detail my camera could catch. While the human eye is dynamic and more powerful than any camera I’ll ever hold in my hands, a camera has other tricks in its hat. It can help recreate a feeling, a sentiment, even though it will never recreate reality. Multiple exposures and slow exposures can translate my impressions of certain places when a simpler landscape shot would fall short. 

Reverie is my first solo show. I have curated these images to transport you into your inner world. When I am behind the lens, I often enter a contemplative realm, where time slows, fully immersed in what I am capturing. I hope to draw you into your own contemplative state, offering a sense of peace, even in images that may express sadness. I hope the smile I wore while crouching to take a shot is infectious.

Most of my pictures are taken locally, in West Virginia or near my home in Montgomery County, Maryland but some were taken in France, where I grew up. 

I have been a member of Waverly Street Gallery in Bethesda for 3 years and my work is also regularly featured at The Framer’s Choice Gallery in Gaithersburg and Chesapeake Framing Company in Kensington. I had a show at Brookside Garden this year in April-May. I am a member of the Washington Printmakers’ Gallery in Georgetown and I hope you can visit me during my solo show there in May 2024.