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Don O. Thorpe Philosophy 
 

When I was a boy on my grandfather's farm, I would lay in the dark watching the passing lights of cars reflected off the old pole gate at the top of the hill. I wondered where they were going and if any of them would stop for a visit. It was a magical time of hope and expectancy. 
       The gate has long since fallen down, and I now live in a city where the lights are brighter and a whirl of activity continually surrounds me. As I sit in my big city house near the sounds of thundering buses and unending cars, I sometimes think about the old gate and I still look for the lights at the top of the hill.
 

RURAL ROOTS
       As a photographer and writer with roots in Southern Utah, I have tried to recapture the magic and the tranquil values of my rural past. So where ever I go, I often find myself looking for down-to-earth images that are a reflection of those long-ago memories.

IMPRESSIONISTIC APPROACH
       I am unquestionably an Impressionist at heart. Strong emotions are at the center of the photographs I produce, and I like to call my style, Photo Impressionism, but some of my photos could be called Photo Expressionism, or even Abstract Photo Impressionism.
 
        I delight working with digital equipment and the image enhancement they provide. These allow me to reach into the variances of expression that were only available to an artist with a brush just a few years ago. Now it is possible to express some of my deepest feelings and spontaneous impressions using these digital techniques.  Now I can enhance my photographs to reflect the impressions I felt at the time of exposure, or that come to me later as I contemplate the images. However, I usually do not use digital techniques to destroy the original image captured by the camera. I only use the software to enhance the original intent of my visualization. It may increase the contrast or enhance the color, or even add some texture, but the original image is still very much alive. 

CRUSADER
        I must admit that I am a blatant crusader who often tries to emphasize the positive. While I realize that life is not always good or cheerful, I prefer to lift the viewers with my photographs -- or at least, help them contemplate something deeper within themselves. For these reasons, I am not usually attracted to images that reflect negative feelings or views.

DIGITAL PHOTO-ART
       On this Website you will find a mixture of conventional and digital photo-art images. All of which express my feelings about life -- impressionistic, expressionistic, semi-abstract and realistic images that come from the heart more than the camera. 

       Sometimes, when I'm walking alone with my camera in the sunshine or embellishing images with my computer late at night, I can still smell the country dust and see the warm evening glow on the fences and barns of my boyhood. In these magical moments I see again the lights at the top of the hill, and I linger for a while to look out of the dark. 






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801-582-6019       donthorpe@gmail.com

© Don O. Thorpe