A Photographer's Perspective: An Interview with Kim Hartman
Artist Statement:
My path to photography followed a serendipitous course. Despite my love for art, especially photography, my educational investments focused on hard science with a later emphasis on the humanities and anthropology. My undergraduate studies centered on human behavior. When I needed a break from work and studies, I stole away time and engrossed myself in the works of various photographers. Given my studies in behavior, I especially appreciated work which focused on human subjects. I contemplated how different photographers captured human emotion and the human experience. I became particularly fond of Robert Doisneau. He found beauty and humor in the mundane moments of life, captivating both my interest in human behavior and my love of photography.
My work in photography began about five years ago when I began playing with a camera that a friend gave me. My play time pivoted toward more serious photography when another friend (also one of my favorite local photographers) taught me how to use the camera, lighting, and software. I supplemented his instruction with coursework and independent study. I shoot for a variety of reasons, but the greatest reason is to depict people in everyday moments. At the end, I feel the value of life is more defined by the accumulation of the little moments than the culmination of the bigger moments. It is the little moments and microexpressions that I most enjoy photographing. I think these are the moments when we are most truly ourselves.
