Bertha Adamson, Photographer
I have been interested in photography since I was a pre-teen. My first camera was a little 110 cartridge that I got collecting labels for a Welch's Grape Juice promotion. But I never considered myself to be artistic (I was a bookworm and science nerd) so I thought I could never be good at it. My next camera was an early autofocus point&shoot 35mm which served me well until I took a trip with a good friend and saw the improved quality of the pictures she took with her Canon SLR. So I asked that my family and friends combine to get me one gift for Christmas - a nice SLR. The rest is, as they say, history.
My photographic education has come from trial-and-error, observing the work of others, and formal classwork. I have benefitted from the educational and competitive environment of the photography clubs I joined in Colorado and California. I have taken a few workshops and several photography course at the university where I used to work. Of course, the important thing is to get out there, practice and learn.
Belle Ame means beautiful spirit or feeling. Seeking a name that would be alliterative with my own name, I was pleased that it also described my attitude toward photography. My goal is to create images that inspire a sense of wonder or capture a feeling.
I work in both color and black&white, as I feel that each has its strengths and weaknesses, depending on the subject. I print my own black&white images, because the media lends itself to many interpretations. I particularly enjoy the alternative process called Lith printing. Simple changes in the print process can result in widely different results, ranging from subtle to striking. In 1998, I decided to pursue options for publicly displaying and selling my work. My work has been accepted and displayed in several exhibitions, including The ArtistŐs Eye and the Orange County Fair. Future projects include working in Lith printing and other alternative processes and developing my skill in handcoloring prints.
Classes in Basic and Advanced Photography and Studio Lighting, Department of Fine Arts, University of Denver, 1994-1995
copyright ©Bertha Adamson
created by belleame@usa.net / last revised September 1999