Murrysville Photographer Finds Worthwhile Subjects Close to Home
From an article published in the Murrysville Star dated September 30, 2015 by Patrick Varine concerning ESAL member Joyce Frost:
Murrysville resident and photographer Joyce Frost with one of her recent award winning photos, 'Magnificent Magnolias.' Frost, has been a member of the Photographic Society of America for 65 years and is a lontime participant in the Murrysville Woman's Club Art Show, which will be Oct. 9 and 10. Photo by Lillian DeDomenic | For Trib Total Media
Joyce Frost has advice for aspiring photographers: Don’t get stressed out if you aren’t going on long, exciting vacations to places such as tropical beaches or Africa. There are plenty of worthwhile subjects right in your own backyard.
As a 94-year-old who doesn’t log much time on safari or at the beach, Frost would know.
“I no longer can travel, so (my subjects) are usually something fairly close to home,” she said.
The Murrysville resident will be among those exhibiting at the 55th annual Murrysville Woman’s Club Art Show, where last year she brought home a judge’s award for “Honkers,” a photograph of a woman blowing her nose as a goose stands nearby.
Working these days with a digital camera is a far cry from when Frost began snapping pictures in the 1940s alongside her husband, Larry, a Westinghouse research chemist who took up photography at the age of 15.
Back then, not only did she use a manual camera and develop black-and-white photos, she would use pens to add color.
“I really do miss it,” she said. “I have a whole closet of the hand-colored photos. But what I do now is a lot of fun, as well.”
Frost’s photographs, along with artwork in a variety of other media, will be on display at the art show, which runs Oct. 9 and 10 at Redstone Highlands in Murrysville.
Last year’s exhibition featured he work of more than 100 artists.
Frost’s submissions this year will include “Neon Pods,” a shot of brightly colored seed pods from a plant in her backyard; “Movement,” an intentionally out-of-focus photograph of children playing; and a shot of a figurine with a petunia in front of it.
The figurine photo hearkens back to Frost’s first days behind the camera, when she was photographing dog and cat figurines at she and her husband’s home in the state of Indiana.
She said that while expensive trips and pricey equipment are just fine, there are plenty interesting subjects to photograph closer to home.
“It might be in your home, it might be in your church or buildings in a nearby city,” Frost said.
“I’m a member of the Photographic Society of America, and everybody but me does a lot of traveling, but I’ve occasionally been praised for being able to find photographic subjects without going too far away.”
Patrick Varine is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-871-2365 orpvarine@tribweb.com.