Colleen Callahan

Click on an image to see it full frame.

Artist Statement

After years of using DSLR cameras and lens, developing and printing analog film, I’ve chosen to use my iPhone camera. The simplicity and portability allow me to quickly and easily respond to a scene that presents itself. My art is an emotional, visceral and spiritual response to personal memory, place and story giving the viewer an interpretive glimpse into my inner world. It is reclamation of Self and honoring of an evolving integration of wholeness. The images are symbols and metaphors of my life, uniquely expressed and a gift returned to Source from which they came.

Bio
My dad was my biggest photographic influence. He gave me his Minolta SRT-101 when I was in high school. Before it landed in my enthusiastic beginners hands, the camera had traveled around the world during his career as an airline pilot. In the 60’s and 70’s flight crews would have two and three week layovers before their next flight. He would photograph wildlife in Africa, architecture in Europe and landscapes in Asia. Mount Fuji from the cockpit was one of his favorite images. He loved sharing his adventure travels with friends and neighbors and would frequently invite them for a BBQ and slide show. Most of the people in his small mountain community would likely never travel to the places he had captured on film. Showing his slides and telling funny stories of his travels were a gift that he happily gave. That gift lives on in me and inspired my love of travel and photography. Following in his intrepid footsteps with my travel blog, Defying Gravity is my modernized way of showing slides and inviting family and friends to share the journey.