Nancy
J. Ori has been respected for over
three decades as a corporate photographer and video producer for New Jersey
Media Center LLC in Berkeley
Heights, NJ. She also
enjoys teaching at photography classes and workshops in the US and Europe as well as tutoring privately throughout the
year. She was affiliated for many years
with the Ansel Adams Workshop in CA and is presently on the faculty and regular
lecturer at the Visual Arts Center of NJ in Summit; Peters Valley Education
Center in Layton, Morris Museum in Morristown, Newark Museum, Grounds for
Sculpture in Hamilton and the Watchung Adult School in Watchung.
In
1990, she established the NJ Heritage Workshop Series, which she holds annually
in Cape May for photographers and other artists. She also conducts destination workshops each
fall to locations such as Santa Fe
and Italy.
A
six-time grant winner from the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders to
produce photographic projects for her community, Nancy was also awarded the
Woman of Excellence Award in Arts and Humanities for Union County in 2004.
Ori’s
work has been widely published and exhibited in museums and galleries
throughout the United States and Europe. She holds a BA degree in Fine Arts and an MS degree
in Visual Communications from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY. www.nancyoriphotography.com
Please visit my website to see the workshops that are currently running. www.nancyoriworkshops.com
On Being a Photographer and Seeing Clearly:
Being a
photographer is not just about taking a picture or creating a product. It is about the process of maturing, of
individual growth and gaining an understanding of history...the history of
photography, of yourself and your subject matter. It’s about what experiences you have had in
your life and how you live your life.
The act of seeing photographically and finding images that speak to
you... “take my picture”, comes from a
summary of everything you have ever done and felt, good and bad. It’s this total body apparatus that makes a
photograph, not the camera. The camera
is just a tool, a box with film in it that needs to be handled correctly.
Like any artist, the photographer
must believe in what he or she is doing and work with great passion. If you truly commit to this, you will be
taken care of. Your life and your work
will progress forward as you are learning to see more clearly. It’s not important how many great photographs
I can make. For me, it is more about
emotion and how many lives I can touch along the way that matters. Making a living as an artist is a gift. Sharing this gift is the most important part
of the process--either by teaching or exhibiting my work. The rest will come.
So you see,
it’s really about commitment. It is
required at every level and becomes a continuous effort. Commitment to a high standard of
craftsmanship or technique is basic. You
can’t speak the language if you don’t know the words. Commitment to staying long enough in a place
or with a particular project in order to understand it and have it speak to
you. This takes time and resources. And of course, commitment to discovering how
to give something back to the process by supporting or enlightening others.
From this
effort will come a style. It may take
years of hard work to get on track or it may happen naturally and quickly. But I do believe that time and life
experience has made a difference in how I see.
With time and attention, things become much clearer as to what is being
seen and how the mind and heart are going to deal with it.
Please go to my website to review my work and see what workshops are currently available. www.nancyoriworkshops.com