International Photographer Lisa Powers Wins Prestigious Distinction Award from the Royal Photographic Society, UK
New York City, NY (PRWEB) November 13, 2013 -- Photographer Lisa Powers recently was presented the Associateship Distinctions Award for exceptional standards of excellence from the Royal Photographic Society, based in the United Kingdom. The RPS is the oldest and most venerable photography organization of its kind in the world. In order to gain a Distinction, a photographer has to submit a portfolio for approval by a highly qualified Panel of Fellows of the Society. The Distinction award was based on the strength of Powers’ submitted images in the category of Commercial and Applied Photography. One of her images appears on the cover of the current issue of the Royal Photographic Society Journal.
Powers was born in France and emmigrated to the United States with her family when she was ten years old. She was raised primarily in New York and California. Her entry into photography came when she saw a “Help Wanted” advertisement looking for a proofreader in a boutique agency and was hired. Within a year, she became more involved in the creative department and was given opportunities to hire photographers, models and crews for photo shoots.
“It was an exciting time for me,” Powers says, “and marked my first step on the journey to becoming a photographer.”
After a year of orchestrating photo shoots for the agency’s clients, she decided she wanted to shoot the photos herself, She left the ad agency and was hired by a busy commercial photo studio as the cleaner/janitor. It was there that Powers taught herself lighting, exposure, films, developing and printing… and, “the BEST part” was that the entire studio, with all equipment and spacious darkroom, was available to her after everyone else had gone home.
“I saw the studio’s vast space with its huge infinity cove as an oversized canvas… I experimented with all the different lights and the effect each had on different films… I didn’t know the rules. I mixed daylight with tungsten; I pushed and pulled film processing; I played with many photo filters etc, and earned a bit of money shooting models’ portfolios.”
Powers’ work was greatly influenced by classic ‘film noir’ and early Technicolor movies. Asian films were also favorites… especially post WWII Japanese films, showing the transition from traditional Japanese to Western styles in urban centres. She eventually traveled to Tokyo, and formed a photography and design studio with well-known Japanese designer and airbrush artist, Taki Ono. In 2004, Powers left the US, and relocated to Christchurch, New Zealand.
“I’d been a very successful commercial photographer for many years and continue to take assignments,” she explains, “but felt it was time to journey inwards and practice ‘seeing’ rather than ‘staging.’ I see art all around...randomly and spontaneously…then it’s time for quietly sorting, editing, arranging and grouping my photographs for books, for exhibitions, or simply for the walls.”
Powers’ artful black & white images of Christchurch in the aftermath of the devastating earthquakes, are part of the International Print exhibition touring the UK, and will also be exhibited in New York.
This year, she completed writing and photo-illustrating her first children’s book, titled, “Benny and the Goldfish” based on a true story of a rescued cat who rescues a goldfish, set in earthquake-damaged Christchurch.
Lisa will receive a certificate from the President of the Society, enabling her to use the letters ARPS after her name.
Rene Hershey, Lisa Powers Photograpy, http://www.lisapowers.com, 760 354 7454, [email protected]
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