Almost as Good as Being There: Artists Series #3

For the third installment in my Artists Series, I'm featuring a talented photographer Jennifer Squires. Based in London, Ontario, Jennifer has two photography degrees, as well as teaching experience. She has been taking pictures professionally since 1996, and has amassed a beautiful portfolio. One of the great things about buying a print from Jennifer Squire Productions is ordering in any size from 4x6 up to 24x30. There are some beautiful floral shots:

I love Jennifer's tagline - "fresh photography for hip homes." I want to have a hip home. So naturally I must get something from Jennifer Squires Productions. But what to choose? If we lived nearer to each other, I'd go with custom portraits like these:

But since Ontario is pretty far away from Arizona, I'm planning to order something from Jennifer's collection of shots from Greece. I have always wanted to visit the Greek Isles, and all the recent movies shot there have only solidified this desire. As does this collection, but which to choose? I'm leaning towards a very affordable 8x10 print of the image below left.

In addition to her gorgeous photographs, Jennifer is a big proponent of environment awareness and responsibility. Here's a great question and answer from an interview she did:

Q: With your Love Earth program, you have reduced the waste typically
associated with photography and have found ways around printing contact sheets,
sending out paper promotional items, and using harmful chemicals. What prompted
you to start doing this?

A: Good environmental practices are nothing new for me; I've been looking for ways to save our earth since my childhood. I've been dreaming about solar panels since I was at least ten years old and I've hated any sort of waste or garbage for much longer than that. I remember two of my favourite non-fiction books from my elementary school days were by David Suzuki and were filled with environmental science experiments for kids.

In line (in my mind) with Jennifer's love of the earth, she has an ongoing series of shots called Closed. From her shop: Closed (2005-ongoing) is a body of work that candidly captures the unadorned shop fronts of various downtown areas that have closed their doors and moved on. These images are a slice of how urban life is evolving. Customers are moving away from the small retail businesses in the downtown core, being lured towards the edge of town to big box stores promising low prices and one stop shopping. Service and convenience have been given up to save a buck. As our downtown retail spaces are fading we are becoming acutely aware that cheap really is expensive.

Kudos to a talented artist who wants to save the planet too! Please visit Jennifer's etsy shop and her website and see for yourself why I love her work!