WithInSight Gallery Artist Profile – Stephen Wooten

WithInSight Gallery Artist Profile

Stephen Wooten

quigebo468@gmail.com

Hey there, passerby. I wanted to share some of my favorite paths I’ve come across while exploring downtown Chicago. I love finding areas where urban grit, metropolitan architecture, and cool tranquility come together. It’s home.

Photography is a form of meditation for me. When I walk around the city to take photos, I often experience a pattern of emotions that roughly follows:

• Anxiety (around what other people might be thinking or whether or not I’m taking a good photo)
• Flow (I’m in the groove and enjoying the process)
• Surprise (life is amazing! Maybe I was able to share a quick smile with someone or even the simplest nod just to say “I see you” keeps me present)
• Disappointment (not everything I try works out; c’est la vie)
• Release (regardless of success or failure, it’s time to move on to the next thing)
• Repeat (it’s the process; results are a function of time)

The first time I went, “Wow! Photos can look like that?!?” was sometime in 2013, where I saw an exhibit of Garry Winogrand’s work and was immediately inspired. I walked out of the museum with nothing but a book of his best work under my arm and a glimmer in my eye. But like a lot of things in my life, I got bored and found other things to keep me busy. Instagram was my real gateway drug.

I took my first photography course at Lill Street Studio last summer and then found this school, where I took Photo I, II and III, followed by the Photoshop class. I currently shoot with a Fuji XT1, which is a beautiful mirrorless camera.

 

Richard Stromberg’s Chicago Photography Classes

2017 Show Class Gallery Opening

Please join us on Sun., Sept. 17th from 10:30 A.M – 4:00 P.M. to view and congratulate this year's class. 14 students have worked months to create amazing bodies of work! Included with the WithInSight Gallery this year are photographs from our new High School Program (FreshLens). Included in the opening are hors d'oeuvres, drinks, and a raffle with a chance to win one of the artist's prints. We hope to see you!

4001 N. Ravenswood Ave., First Floor, Chicago, IL 60613

Ravenswood Art Walk 2017