Photographer of the Week: Amanda Galvin-Johnston

"Loop Beach at Sunset" / Shot in Cotuit in December at sunset with my Nikon D40

By Amanda Galvin-Johnston
Boston

Since moving from Los Angeles to Boston three years ago, I’ve become obsessed with shooting seascapes -- especially on the North Shore and the Cape. My favorite places to shoot are Wingaersheek Beach, near Gloucester, and Corporation Beach in Dennis (on Cape Cod). The rocks at Wingaersheek are really striking, especially at sunset. And at Corporation Beach at low tide, the sand gets these amazing ripples, which I just love to try to capture.

I use a Nikon D40 with an 18-55 mm lens, and I often select the "macro" setting (indicated by the flower symbol on the settings dial). I've found this setting to be invaluable for shooting anything really close-up, especially when you want a nice, crisp image.

I've been doing photography for about 20 years (since high school), and have just recently gotten more serious about it. I joined the Cape Cod Art Association in March, and submitted several of my pictures to PhotoShelter, an online stock agency for creative photography. I’m also trying to enter as many local photography contests as I can, as a way of getting my stuff "out there."

I studied Fine Art Photography in Orleans, France, after college, and worked for awhile as a photographer for a newspaper on California’s Central Coast. I love black & white and sepia-toned images, especially of ordinary things (like plants or rocks) in extraordinary light.

I'm currently a writer for The MENTOR Network, a social services organization in Boston, but I spend as much of my free time as possible on the Cape, taking pictures -- lots of them. I’ve been known to take 500 or more for my family’s Christmas card, and I’m not exaggerating!

I have a Web site in progress, CapturedCoast, and more of my images can be seen at PhotoShelter, where five of my pictures have been selected as "Editor’s Choice" photos.

"Green Leaves with Water Droplets"
It had rained, and I was outside on my deck in Cotuit when I noticed that the rain drops on the plants in the yard were glistening in the light ... I went back inside, grabbed my camera, set it to the "macro" setting, and took about 30 pictures of these leaves! I like the way this one turned out the best, because the drops look like they're about to fall off ... and I also like the piece of grass that is just barely visible behind the leaf.

"Sandwich Boardwalk"
This won First Prize in the current show at the Cape Cod Art Association. It was shot at sunset in November '07.

"Cottages Close-Up"
This is a row of closed cottages in Truro at sunset last winter. This photo was juried into the Cape Cod Art Association's National Show this year.

"Fence and Tree"
This is another photo I took at Wingaersheek Beach on the North Shore. The sand and the trees that April day were beautiful in the fading light.

"Blue Hydrangea"
I took this in July in Centerville on the Cape at sunset with very little light.

"Shadows on Sand"
Another sunset shot, this one at Wingaersheek Beach on the North Shore last winter.

"Scattered Rocks with Ripples"
I got this shot at low tide, late afternoon, in Dennis.

"Single Peony"
This picture was taken in my backyard in late afternoon, sometime in the spring of '05.

"Fences with Shadows"
Here is a photo I shot at Wingaersheek Beach near Gloucester in April '08 ... I loved the way the light hit the sand!

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