Joseph City High School senior Talaina Fisher has become proficient in the fascinating, mesmerizing art of conceptual photography. With photo editing skills and limitless creativity, Talaina takes pictures and then manipulates them–transforming them into stunning masterpieces. Through years of experimentation, time, effort and practice, she has become incredibly adept at creating seemingly “impossible” photos.
Talaina’s pursuit of photography began when her family moved to Holbrook. She started helping her mother Linda Kor, reporter and associate editor of The Tribune-News, by taking photos for the newspaper. Dissatisfied with taking normal photographs, she also experimented with her cell phone camera; sometimes she would tape it to the ceiling to get a more interesting angle!
As Talaina continued to take photos and practice, she built a reputation. As a result, she was hired to do some artwork for the local band Triple Play and RoadKing magazine. She also started up her own small business of taking senior pictures for her friends.
In the midst of this excitement, Talaina was scrolling through Facebook one day when she saw a picture of someone levitating. With many photography skills under her belt and an artistic eye, she decided to try something similar.
Now, about a year later, she has successfully levitated her brother, transformed herself into a mermaid, held the moon and sprouted butterfly wings–to name just a few of her photo concepts. She has also pursued some darker themes in her work, and launched a photo series called Degeneration, which depicts decay and transformation. Conceptual photography, according to Talaina, is meant to show an “inner meaning or message.” Her thought-provoking artwork does just that.
Many things inspire Talaina, but one of the most compelling sources of inspiration for her work is music. She says, “I always knew there was a connection between my photos and music, but there wasn’t a real connection until I started a series based on Led Zeppelin songs…I really like classic rock…and also just classical music in general. My photos are based off of the mood of that music…”
The experimental singer Jack White also became a significant inspiration when he produced the fastest-released record in history with his song Lazaretto. Talaina admired White’s motivation to push his personal limits, and his success prompted her to think outside the box and try new things with photography.
Last summer she had the opportunity to be part of an experimental photography program at the California College of Arts in Oakland. There she really learned the process of conceptual photography, found inspiration and practiced taking incredible photos with other photographers who are just as passionate as she is. “That was seriously the best experience of my life!” she says.
Talaina wants to pursue conceptual photography as a career. After she graduates from JCHS, she hopes to attend the School of Art Institute of Chicago or the California College of the Arts. She wants to apply her photography to the music industry.
Until then, her photos can be viewed online on the Facebook page Talaina Fisher’s Phantasmagoria or on her website, http://talainafisher.wix.com/photography
