PHYLLIS EVANS DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY MEXICO

Mexico Photographs (2005): I have only recently begun to use the camera as anything other than a tool for snapshots and taking slides of my work. While I have long admired and been inspired by work of great photographers like Ed Weston, Robert Mapplethorpe, Diane Arbus, and Andres Serrano, I had never given much thought to trying photography for my own creative expression. That changed this year when I bought a Nikon D-70, a digital camera that looks and handles very much like a regular 35 mm camera. The big attractions for me were the interchangable lenses and the excellent quality high resolution images. I took the D-70 with me to Mexico and photographed anything and everything I saw. I began to realize that the most successful shots were the ones that focused the Baroque architectural ornament, a subject that has long been a part of my digital and painted imagery. I have taken many, many photographs and continue to do so. With each outing, I learn a little more about what I my strengths are and what interests my eye.

VERACRUZ	OAXACA	PUEBLA

GUANAJUATO	SAN LUIS POTOSI	DOLORES HIDALGO

	SAN MIGUEL DE ALLENDE

VERACRUZ

On a windy evening I got some great shots of the balloon vendors on the square. American pop culture characters exported to China for production then Mexico for sale. It is difficult for chidren or adults to resist the shiny colorful tinsel display. The figures dance across the page and levitate like phantoms on fire.

OAXACA

Baroque ornament on colonial churches, geometric designs on the ruins at Mitla, and Oaxacan folk art studios.

PUEBLA

My favorite subjects in the city of Puebla were the colorful Talavera tiles that covered every building and the heavily decorated interiors and exteriors of the colonial churches.

GUANAJUATO

There are many beautiful Baroque churches in the city of Guanajuato. Most of my interest was focused on details of profuse ornament that covered the interior and exterior walls. Some of the images here are from the 19th century Teatro Juarez. The stained glass has a more modern theme, since it came from the home of 20th century artists Olga Costa and Jose Chavez Morado.