Artist Profile – Jane Linders

Jane Linders is an award-winning photographer whose prints are in numerous national and international collections. Jane has exhibited her work everywhere from her hometown of St Louis, Missouri to the Smithsonian Museum in Washington D.C. She is a tireless image maker, whose work can be seen in galleries, books, magazines and newspapers.

Interviewed by Dan Wampler

 

1. Welcome, please tell us about yourself and your background

I was born in St. Louis and started seriously with photography in 1995. I don’t have any formal training in art or photography, but learned my craft using two valuable tools: trial and error. My favorite subjects are dreamy landscapes, cemeteries and the quirky oddities of roadside Americana. Photography fits in well with my passion for nature and travel. I photography the places and things I see as I go about my daily life. I am drawn to alternative process photography , such as Polaroid transfers, emulsion lifts and cyano0types. I still use old printing processes from the 1850’s, so I have one foot in the digital age and another foot 150 yrs in the past.

2. How long have you been a photographer? 

I started taking photos as a teenager and haven’t looked back.

3. How long have you been shooting Infrared?

My first roll of infrared film was shot in 1996 and it was a disaster. I didn’t know anything about shooting with infrared film, so all my first photos were very bad. I didn’t have a red filter, I loaded the film in my camera in broad daylight and had no knowledge of that “secret red focusing dot” on my 35mm Nikon. I finally figured out how to get decent infrared photos with film and loved the etheral effect of infrared on my photos. Recently I have switched to a digital infrared camera.

4. What is your best photography related achievement?

Andy Warhol said “everyone will be famous for 15 minutes.” My “15 minutes of fame” happened when I entered a Smithsonian photo contest and won. I was so excited to have my photo exhibited in the Smithsonian. Later, the Smithsonian used my photo for their TV show Smithsonian Spotlight Picture Perfect which was a show about what makes a simple photo a work of art. One of my photos is on the set of ABC’s TV show “Two Broke Girls”.

5. What do like best about IR photography?

I like the way infrared photography captures something softer than what is seen with the human eye. Infrared photography allows me to convey a visual language of thought, dreams and spirituality. I like to shoot a lot in cemeteries and the infrared adds a pleasing hypnotic, ghostly quality to my cemetery photos.

6. If you could pass on just one tip about IR, what would it be?

My tip is to find a place that lends itself well to infrared. A place with a lot of greenery and chose a day with big puffy clouds as they look very dramatic with infrared. My favorite season is to shoot in the spring because the small leaves don’t completely block out the structure of the trees. If you can find a spot with trees and clouds  reflected in water, that would be ideal. Location, location, location.

7. Do you have any projects currently going you would like to discuss?

I will be exhibiting my infrared photos, along with Mary Nasser, at The ReFind Room, 2525 S. Brentwood Blvd. The opening reception for Eclectic Earth, is March 21 from 6 to 8 pm. My next art fair is at The Green Goose, 5611 Hampton Ave, 63109 from 10am to 5pm on April 27th.

Jane’s work can be seen at Feng Shui Photography and JaneLindersPhotography.