A Color Explosion: Featuring Luann Pero

Photography is a medium that has been used to capture the beauty of nature for many years.  Luann Pero is a photographer that has taken this to a new level by using techniques such as Intentional Camera Movement, slow shutter speeds, multi-in-camera exposures and Composite Photography, which results in images of a painterly or water-color look with muted colors and softened lines.  

Composite Photography, which is a technique often used by Luann, involves using two or more different images to create a new image. Luann enjoys using this process to create a sense of movement and energy in the final image and to capture the subject in a more abstract way. In Luann’s photo entitled, Color Explosion, she has used composite photography to capture the reflection of a tree from one image and a peony from another.  She used layers to put the composite photo together, resulting in an image that has a more abstract look, with the colors of the blossoms and trees blending together.  

Having grown up near Highland Park in Rochester, NY, Luann was surrounded by the scents and sights of lilacs and other flowers.  She says, “Nature is my muse when making my abstract, impressionistic and ethereal images of flowers, trees and weeds.” She adds that “each flower has a personality to discover.”  She recalls “There was a sense of peace, along with the wonderful scents of flowers gone wild.”

In Luann’s retirement she has had the time to record her encounters with the world of flowers, botanicals, weeds and trees.  She says she “enjoys lingering with and delving into the structure of the flowers, smelling their fragrances, and savoring their charms as she feels the emotions conveyed by a bouquet of flowers.”   She often does this by using a macro lens and extension tubes, which enable her “to see into the inner sanctum of a tiny flower or delve into the roughened, grooved, and furrowed surfaces of a leaf.”  She points out that these images can give the viewer a glimpse into the world that is often overlooked and unseen by the naked eye.

As Luann reflects on her journey, she is reminded of a quote by Gertrude Jekyll who said, “More than half a century has passed, and yet each spring, when I wander into the primrose wood and see the pale, yellow blooms, and smell their sweetness of scents; for a moment I am seven years old again and wandering in the fragrant wood.”  

Luann continuously seeks inspiration in nature.  Whether it is a seedling, a sapling or a bud, she is moved by the powerful, simplistic and expressive subject matter.  As she moves subject matter from static to poetic, she ponders over the fact that for her a photograph can “create a mood or speak words when there are no words to utter.”

She says, “Capturing and transcribing the emotional moment and beauty of a scene is my voice and my joy. Finding the spark of creativity and adventure in photography is my goal.”

In addition to showing regularly, as a partner at Image City Photography Gallery; Luann’s work has been featured in the Memorial Art Gallery, Lower Link Gallery, the Baptist Temple, Barnes & Noble, the Williams Gallery, NuMovement Studio, Starry Nights Café, State of the Art Gallery, Gallery 96, Mendon 64 and the Photoplace Gallery in Middlebury, VT.   Her photos also hang on the walls of collectors.  Luann’s exhibit entitled “A Color Explosion” will be shown at Image City Photography Gallery from July 11  – August 6, 2023.  To see more of Luann’s work, click here: https://luannpero.zenfolio.com

If you would like to comment on Luann’s exhibit or if you have a question for Luann, please enter your comments in the comment box below.