“I used to think taking a picture of a building to show off its architecture was the goal, but I’m learning that the little scrap of paper blowing in the wind at the foot of the building and the way the sun and shadows blend on its surface are just as significant in their own way,” Waddell said in an email.
Waddell’s photographs are on exhibition at the Blueline Gallery alongside prints by Danielle Urschel as part of a series titled “Overtaken.” Waddell said photography has always been an interest but has become regularly incorporated into his routine as of late.
Waddell said he remembers running around with an old Polaroid camera in his childhood. Through the years, he said, he has experienced the expensive, time-consuming process of film photography and, during the past decade, the ease of digital.
“I’ve used a variety of cameras over the years,” Waddell said in an email. “I currently primarily use a Canon Rebel T3 with a couple of different lenses and my iPhone 6 Plus. It’s amazing how the quality of camera phones has developed.”
As for subject matter, Waddell said he has established notoriety based on still subjects such as buildings. However, he said he has an interest in nature and has started including some human figures into his work as of late.
“I’ve developed this reputation as an abandonment photographer since that is my primary subject, but I also really enjoy nature photography, and lately I’ve really been getting into candid street photography of people,” Waddell said in an email. “That comes with a whole completely different set of challenges.”
A life-changing event a few years back shifted Waddell’s perspective, which he said made the appreciative power of photography all the more meaningful.
“It really caused me to look at things differently, to appreciate the subtle shifts of light during the day and to look at the little things that are going on outside of what we take notice of at first glance,” Waddell said in an email. “Photography for me is like meditation. It allows me to focus on the details of just a piece of something much, much larger and to see how it fits into the larger scheme of things.”
As for this most recent exhibition, Waddell said the theme came naturally as he and Urschel looked through the pieces they intended to display.
Waddell said the opening reception for “Overtaken” had a great audience response, and he hopes more people take time to stop in the gallery to experience the work on a deeper level.
“It’s really easy to walk by an image, quickly glance at it and say, ‘That’s cool,’ but with anyone’s art it would be nice to have people really stop and notice the finer details, to try to put themselves in the moment with the work,” he said in an email. “Danielle’s work absolutely amazes me when you look at the minute details and think about the effort behind it. There’s a sort of grace to it.”
Waddell has a growing business, Anicca Photography. The name comes from a Pali word for the Buddhist concept of impermanence, which shows the preservative power of his craft.
“At the heart of it, that’s what my photography is about,” Waddell said in an email. “Every single thing is only temporary and fleeting — the old houses I photograph will eventually fall down, people come and go from your life. It’s sad, but it also can make you really appreciate things so much more knowing that they can vanish in a moment’s time.”
