My interest in photography originated in my love of the natural world, and in my desire to capture some of the beauty I found there to share with others. My first round of formal education was at San Jose State University, where I studied first Women's Studies, then Biology and teaching. When some medical problems came along that have prevented me from working in the usual manner, I began to see my long-time love of photography as an alternative place to focus my energies, and began to make some formal study of photography (classes, workshops, books and lots of practice). I am still trying to share some of the wonders I find with others, but my subject matter now includes the grace and variety of the human form in addition to traditional landscapes. I often use photographs as a way to freeze a moment in time, to allow us to slowly study and contemplate something that would otherwise be quite fleeting - a tiny moment out of an active scene, a single mood out of a much more complex whole personality, a short-lived feeling, attitude or fantasy. The paint that I add to the photograph allows me to make subtle changes - sometimes to simplify the image, sometimes to complicate - and to heighten or otherwise manipulate the mood of the photograph. I'm fascinated by the varieties that we humans come in, and I strive to find beauty in all possible shapes, sizes, and ages. The nudes are all collaborations with my models and I am very much indebted to the women and men who have modeled for me.

I studied Photography at Foothill College, and in workshops with David Bayles, Ruth Bernhard, Steve Kiser, Ted Orland, Marion Patterson, and Jerry Uelsmann. My work has been widely exhibited (including on the internet) and is included in many private collections; I've also been a guest lecturer in the arts to classes at Foothill College, San Francisco Art Institute, and San Jose State University. I'm currently represented by Nancy Hirsch of Carmel Valley, by Sullivan Goss Books & Prints of Santa Barbara, and by Gallery Sur in Carmel-by-the-Sea.

Saelon Renkes