BIO & STATEMENT
Bootsy Holler is an intuitive commercial, editorial and fine art photographer who has been shooting professionally and showing for more than 20 years. Best known for her remarkably sensitive style of portraiture she has been noticed and awarded by the Society of Photographic Journalism.
Her career as an artist started as youthful obsession with fabrics and fashion, leading into a degree in textile design. She moved into styling, art direction then started her own small design manufacture incorporating photography and in 1999 let go of them all to focus only on photography as an art and trade.
From that journey, she gained three things: a devotion to craft, a deep understanding of style, and respect for the power of beauty. She quickly progressed to portraiture, gaining major professional momentum shooting musicians and bands in Seattle’s music scene of the late 1990’s. But when you look at Holler’s fine art you usually find self-portrait work or the mundane daily life we often pass by.
Focusing on the spirit of people, things, and moments, she gained a reputation for being able to communicate the intangible. That has led directly to her work with some of the most interesting personalities and brands. Today, based in Los Angeles, she works in the advertising and fine art, expanding her offerings into directing. Her quest is to capture and magnify the beauty and spirit of each object or person she photographs.
STATEMENT
Most of all I want to show viewers the beauty in people and things they might otherwise ignore. In that sense, all my work is portraiture -- an image that captures the essential personality of the subject. That happens when I make a personal connection to an environment, object, or person. I take pictures of what moves me and hope the audience can feel this in my work. It can also be a projection of how I want people to see me, an ideal idea of myself.
I shot only in black & white for more then ten years, and tend to see in black & white. Composition and balance are most important to me. With my background in textiles and fashion, I love to capture patterns, texture, and blocks of negative space. With color, my goal is to capture the actual emotion that color brings to an environment. If the environment is warm or cool to the eye, my impulse is to capture the look of that environment rather then "correcting" it. I supplement light if necessary to capture an image, but I try to preserve the existing look and feel of the moment.
My ideas come about organically, usually from an image, drawing or personal experience that trigger a full blown project. I feel like the best art happens when you're not thinking about "why" -- just doing. The fewer restraints I put on myself the more I like photography. I plan and prepare for the shoot as necessary, but when the time comes I let my instincts guide me. booholler