Tom Hennessy
Guest photographer for the Photographic Nights of Selma 2020
I studied photography at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh in the late 1970’s using 35mm film cameras, and I had my own darkroom for black and white printing.
In 2011 I purchased my first Canon DSLR and became focused on relearning photography in the digital age. My favorite lenses are my 100 mm macro lens that I use for floral photography, and my 16 to 35 mm lens that I use for landscapes.
I love to take photographs of wildflowers, as well visiting botanical gardens whenever I travel. In 2019 I had the opportunity to visit botanical gardens in Ann Arbor, MI, Chicago, IL, Alice Springs, Australia, Sydney, Australia, Christchurch, New Zealand, and Queenstown, New Zealand.
I want the beauty of the natural world to be captured in my photos and I want to show the details that we easily overlook in daily life. It is common to see flowers in a garden, and there is much to admire in a well laid out garden. But, to me, the essence is in often in the details of the individual flowers – the slowly opening petals of a rose; the colors and flair of a calla lily blossom; the dewdrops on the petals of a dahlia.
I also teach two popular photography workshops at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, one focused on photographing flowers in nature, and one focused on photographing flowers in a home studio.
In 2020 I juried an all photography show at the Fredericksburg Center for Creative Arts in Fredericksburg, VA.
