 Portfolio of
Josh Andrews
Interview with Artist
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Artist Statement
At a recent photography workshop, I was asked a very simple question that was asked of all the students during a critique session: “What are you trying to say with your photographs, and do you think you’ve achieved your goals?” Straight-forward enough, I thought, but I realized later that it can be incredibly difficult to distill one’s own passion into words, whether it be oil painting, playing the saxophone, or taking photographs. I’m grateful that the question was posed, however, because it has caused me to reflect on my motivations for taking the photographs that I take. I’ve come up with two pervasive themes that have usually hung around the back of my brain whenever I’ve been out with a camera since the age of 10. The first is that, on a fundamental level, I enjoy seeing continuities in nature, and have always been the most inspired when I’ve found similarities in seemingly dissimilar subjects. Capturing abstract shapes and patterns made by stationary rocks, drifting sand, or flowing water are consistent themes in my photography, and I’m constantly searching for new ways to express this concept. The second theme has been to show the strength and life in nature’s fragile elements. Photographers always have a choice in how they portray their subjects, and strength can be found in unlikely places. I think photography is my way of saying that. As to whether I am achieving my goals, I think photography is always a work in progress, but as you look at my photographs, hopefully this gives a little perspective of what I’m thinking about when looking through my viewfinder, and what I’m hoping to share. Sincere thanks to Bruce Barnbaum and Donald Rommes for making me think a little differently.
Biography
I was born in San Diego, California in 1974 and began studying photography at an early age at the Idyllwild School of Music and the Arts in Southern California. I’ve recently spent time photographing in Escalante Canyon in Southern Utah, Death Valley National Park, Alaska’s Lake Clark National Park & Preserve, Greenland and Spitsbergen in the Arctic, and the slot canyons of Northern Arizona. I live in San Francisco and am always trying to figure out where I’m going next. It might be back to Death Valley.
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