Featured Artist: Emma Chalk

Q: How did you get into photography?
A: It started when I was really little, I guess. I was in girl scouts and I was in 3rd grade and we had a little photography unit. Someone came to talk to us about it and so that kind of started it.

Q: What’s your biggest achievement within photography?
A: Mr Finkelston nominated me for the photography scholars program at The Nelson so I had to submit an essay and a portfolio. I got in as one of 15 students in the KCMO area.

Q: What is the program like? what do you do?
A: I meet five Saturdays this month and we have a class where we talk about documentary photography, which is the focus for this year’s program. Adam J Long is the guest speaker and photographer, so we just kind of explore different photographer’s of documentary photography and talk about the process and factual or faked stuff.

Q: How often do you take photos?
A: I take them a lot more often now, like daily for the photography scholars program, but usually I just kind of think of ideas and sometimes it’ll take me a little bit to get inspiration or so. It kind of just depends on how I’m feeling.

Q: Is anyone else in your family artistic?
A: There is my aunt on my moms side is a painter and so is my grandma. My mom paints a little bit too. My brother is a musician and so is my mom and then my other brother is a videographer.

Q: What kind of photos do you like to take?
A: I really like building images. A lot of mine are layers of different images I have taken. I also like doing different like alternative processes, such as cyanotypes or photopolymer gravures, which are a little older but they’re a lot more fun to do because they involve a lot of building and it can get quite frustrating sometimes. Once you have something that you have worked on for so long and then it turns out really good you’re really happy with it.