Central Massachusetts’ John Daly: Photographer, Poet, Priest
Saturday, August 03, 2013
Central Massachusetts' own John Daly wears a number of hats, as he puts it, understating the obvious. He is a photographer, a haiku and "tanka" poet, a teacher and an Eastern Orthodox Priest with a parish in Southbridge.
As you'd expect from a man of God, he has very thorough and deep ideas about the meaning of his art, or what is involved in capturing both an image of the world and his own personal mental vision in one splendid piece of photography and poetry.
"I am unabashed about using Photoshop and other software to process my work. For me, the image is meant to represent my vision and is not simply a snap shot," admits Daly.
"That being said, composition is everything and processing needs to be restrained. Image and word go hand in hand. A photograph is an image poem and a poem is a verbal image. I like to put them together and often do."
Photography and poetry both, he claims, center him and bring him peace in the midst of all the "busy-ness and rush of life."
"I feel almost like I'm in touch with eternity--like the snow in that particular scene will never stop falling or the mist will never stop rising or those flowers will never fade," he continues.
"It has a very powerful spiritual dimension to it."
The Subject and the Spiritual Place
Many artists mention this "spiritual dimension" involved in their work, but few probably understand its components as well as a priestly artist like Daly.
"I'm always on the lookout for books like this and not just about New England, but about virtually anywhere on the planet where the photography captures the 'essence' of a place. I aim for that in my style," he remarks.
He also photographs people from time to time. With these, his goals are a little different. He tends to look for gentle and offbeat humor.
"I guess I would like people to see the humor of my people shots and the tranquility of my landscapes," he says, summing up.
Daly's humble about his work, and continues to strive for bigger and better things.
"Sometimes I hit it and too often I miss, but I keep my standard high and don't give up," says Daly. He expects his work to mature and continue long into the future. After all, his interest in art, both visual and writing, has been lifelong. He could never afford dark room equipment, and for this reason digital photography, as an alternative to film, came as a blessing. As you can see, he has taken full advantage of this advancement.
As for his specific goals for the future, he hopes to join his wife, a jeweler, in various arts and crafts shows in the region, enter his work in more competitions, and expand his portraiture even more.
"I'm pushing 60 but still feel young," he ends hopefully.
For more information on John Daly and to view (or read) some of his work please visit his website.
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