Jackie Mitchell

Jackie Mitchell

I'm thrilled and honored to have been asked to display my photos at the Heritage Home for the Arts. I have been working as a photographer for the past 12 years but it seems I have been taking photos all my life. My business is people pictures and my goal is to capture who that person is in a photograph. I enjoy getting to know each one a little bit while we work together, whether that person is 5 or 75.

People have asked if I was on a vacation with my family as I was never in the pictures, always the one behind the camera. I've participated in several online photography courses, many workshops, and classes and my computer hard drives contain thousands of photos. I believe the best learning is by doing.

One instructor told us to "Get the shot". So often the scene is perfect and I think I'll come back and get it later, but it's never the same. I try to stop, take the time, and get the shot. I always try to have my camera with me because you just never know when that great shot is right in front of you.

My favorite pastime is driving around just to see what I can see, and I love to look for the different - different angles, different perspectives - along with the beauty that we see all around us. I love the light and what it can do.

When I'm not working as a photographer, I farm with my husband Wally. We have a daughter and son and their partners, and two awesome grandchildren, who bring the greatest joy to our lives.

Printing my photos for this exhibition has been very interesting, trying to provide a variety of the things that interest me most, as well as trying to convey the feeling I had when I took the photo. I hope that comes through in the pictures.