ARTIST STATEMENT

Images fill my screen while I sort through them to build my website for this year, they bring back memories. Tromping, backpacking, and camping out in nature wear the soles on my shoes. Along the way, my attention is piqued enough for me to remove my pack and retrieve a camera for image capture. I invite you to enjoy a small sampling of these photographs within my portfolios: Cup of Water, Alice & Jeremiah’s Summer Field Trip Portfolio, Charmed by the Desert, Touch of Nature, and Montana: Mountains & More.

Touch of Nature is a mix of photographs from Montana. The out-of-doors presentation of microscapes (1) often seem larger than life. They unfold and conjure up possibilities to shape a person's imagination.

When winter shrouds Montana, the warm desert air is a welcome reprieve. In Charmed by the Desert, I took special notice of the unique visual opportunities in this dry climate. This series begins with Rocks, Roots, Sunshine, an image where I used backlighting to emphasize the subject matter.

My thirst for mountains and desert drew me to see movement and change so apparent in water. Sometimes I am just challenged by walking conditions. Yes, it could mean being in the right place at the perfect time to experience a first.

Then too there is history, photographic history. My list of resources from my art history knowledge vacillates. Mostly I give thumbs up to Dorothea Lange. Her work ethic and partnership in the field keeps me in awe. A special person beside me in the field adds a dimension of sharing that can’t be beat. Yousuf Karsh’s images aid me in paying attention to light and composition. My choice is to work with ambient light. He used controlled light but regardless his genius exudes from pages that document his photography. Henri Cartier-Bresson taught me about the decisive moment. He referenced people and a psychological moment when they so to speak connected with his closed shutter. I personalize this phrase and see it as a decisive moment in nature. For example, capturing water flowing downstream, a moment retrieved only through the testimony of a photograph and process to reveal an end product to viewers. If I miss an image the next moment will dish out another. It helps me place trust in the larger picture. To be open to what comes next. 

Footnote: (1) my invented word

Once again I put my creative writing classes to the task and continue learning with a Meetup writing group. I wrote a second book, Microscapes! So just what are Microscapes you might ask. I think of them as small landscapes. Rita Fitzsimmons sums up my efforts in an endorsement summary: Rosella Mosteller’s black and white images of the natural world are stunning in their composition and elegance. With her technical ability and sharp attention to detail, she captures singular moments in time…images that have the power to enrich anyone who views her work. _____Rita Fitzsimmons, Designworks