ARTIST SPOTLIGHT - TRISHA BIERY
I recently I had the wonderful opportunity to sit down with my good friend and fellow photographer, TRISHA BIERY. I've known Trisha for some time but was really excited to be able to feature some of her work on Design Spaces! Her travels to different countries always yield photographs that hold my interest for a number of reasons, not least of which includes a unique take on space, angle and color. Trisha took some time out to answer some questions for us about her work.
DS: Tell me a bit about your interest and background in photography.
TB: I would say I first became interested in photography during my college semester in Italy. I hadn’t ever taken a class. Just being around all of the amazing architecture in Europe inspired me. When I graduated from college, my parents gave me my first serious camera (I had been wanting one for awhile), and I spent the subsequent year in Paris. Paris was really where my interest grew exponentially. My friends and I would wait outside of the Paris fashion shows with our cameras trying to get whatever shots we could. It was very exhilarating. The fashion there was really fun to photograph.
TB (cont'd): When I returned home, I started taking photos for friends. It kind of went from there. I shot my first wedding last fall. All day, I was running around trying to get every important shot and by the end of it I felt exhausted. I loved every minute of it.
DS: In traveling to a lot of different areas, what are the differences you notice when you go to pick up your camera- what makes a moment or space worth remembering?
TB: Color has always been something that catches my eye. I love that when you travel, the things you photograph are unique to the area in which you are traveling. I love finding little cultural details. Europe has so much history. Sometimes it’s interesting to see a photograph of something so modern juxtaposed with something so old.
DS: How much of photography do you find innate, and how much relies on frame training and more traditional aesthetics?
TB: It really started as an innate thing. I never had any formal training. I actually picked up my first photography book last summer, and I would say that it has helped me with the technical aspects. I think in the beginning it was just “ooh that’s a cool shot!” or “I like how that one turned out!” and now I think about it a bit more. I still try not to over think things too much.
"A lot of things come together to make a photo beautiful : light, color, composition… some of the tradition is good, but it is also good to shake things up a bit."
-Trisha Biery
DS: When do you find yourself intentionally breaking rules and tradition with your work? When has it worked and when has it not worked out so well? TB: I honestly feel like I have never been much of a rule follower when it comes to photography. I just photograph what I think is beautiful or eye-catching. I do prefer neat and organized composition in photos, but I think the beauty of photography is that you don’t really have to follow rules.A lot of things come together to make a photo beautiful : light, color, composition…some of the tradition is good, but it is also good to shake things up a bit.
DS: Favorite subject to photograph?
TB: Without a doubt, I love photographing interesting architecture. Colorful things are a close second. I also went through a phase where I would find myself photographing nearly every coffee I had. One day I realized I had quite a large collection of coffees in different cafés around Europe and I didn’t even mean to!
DS: In terms of hanging onto your work or displaying it within the house, what are your own practices and how would you recommend to others ways to bring out the best of a photograph through its placement and arrangement in a room? What are the rules to the road that way?
TB: One technique that I have become a fan of, is taking a large picture and breaking it up into smaller photos and framing them separately and grouping them any which way. It gives cohesiveness, but also adds something interesting. It’s more unique than just taking a single photo, putting it in a frame and hanging it on the wall. That being said, I think you have to play with size. A large photograph can make such a statement in your home. I think you just have to take whatever mood you want the room to emit and find a way to represent that through the art. I recently took a snap of the ocean and I am thinking of blowing it up and hanging it in my bedroom because I think it feels peaceful. I also really love the color blue. There are so many ways to use photographs in your home, just do what makes your home feel like a happy place! You have to surround yourself with things you love!
Artist's Statement: Trisha Biery is a photographer currently living in Boston. She grew up just outside of Pittsburgh, PA and spent most of her life there. After studying journalism at Penn State University, she moved to Paris for a year to work as an au pair. The year spent in Paris still influences her life to this day and she always looks back on it as one of the best decisions she has ever made. Since moving to Boston last September, she has been trying her best to take advantage of the beauty New England has to offer.
