Transitions: Carol F. Thomas: On the Verge of Change III

On the Verge of Change II
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ARTIST STATEMENT

My recent interest in photography is to capture a moment in time, tell a story, and highlight an emotion. I was traveling in India just before the world shut down due to the global pandemic. Now as we transition, hopefully to a better, more inclusive world, these images speak to a universal theme of being on the verge of change. Thank you for allowing me to share my passion with you.

Photography, for me, is all about the art of seeing, using my camera to be in the moment and interpreting the world as I see it. I was twelve when my parents gave me a small Brownie camera before a family trip to Yosemite National Park. This fueled a lifelong passion for both travel and photography.

I have a Ph.D. from U. C. Berkeley in educational research and development. Before I retired, I was CEO of Education Northwest, a non-profit organization that operated as a federally-funded regional educational laboratory. I believe in lifelong learning and photography has taught me to look at my world differently even without a camera. It has opened by eyes and heart to the beauty of the world and allowed me to meet new people and hear their stories.

I belong to the Berkeley Camera Club (Board member 2013-2019), the Berkeley Fine Art Photography Group, the Bay Area Nikon Users Group, and the East Bay Photo Collective. My images have been exhibited at the Abrams Claghorn Gallery, the ACCI Gallery, the Alameda County Fair, Art Works Downtown, Blake Garden, Chapel of the Chimes, Expressions Gallery, Gray Loft Gallery, the Lightroom, and at the Marin Society of Artists, among other venues. I have several images in the 2019 Women’s Building of San Francisco’s “Maestrapeace,” documenting the city’s feminist mural. As a volunteer for ProBonoPhoto (probonophoto.org), an organization that provides images free to the media and non-profit organizations, I have covered several non-profit and political events. I have also donated images to non-profit organizations for fundraisers.