By Avery Barnett
“My body of work is about establishing family ties. All of my photographs are from Maine, which is an important place to my family and I.”
Hannah Wynn
Hannah Wynn has spent her time at Valdosta State University broadening her horizons while also maintaining a deep connection to her familial roots. As she graduates with the VSU Class of 2021, her photographic exploration of growth and bond left a lasting impact on the Spring 2021 Senior Art Exhibition, titled “Living in Color.”
Hannah Wynn is originally from Bainbridge, Georgia and has lived in Valdosta for three years to attend Valdosta State University and study art. When asked about why she chose to pursue photography over other media, Wynn stated, “My Grandfather got me my first camera when I was eight. That’s where it all started. He encouraged me from the beginning, and I just knew I had to get back into it. My family has been incredibly supportive of it.”
Wynn describes her time at VSU fondly. She has not only made quality art in her time here but also made quality friends, which strengthens the overlying theme of her body of work. Her time at VSU was also impacted greatly by the professors she has had in the last three years. “The professors are great. They really encourage you to focus on producing the best work possible, to show the process, and to be okay with making mistakes in order to be more confident in what you’re capable of,” she said in her interview. Wynn also spoke at length about how much her skills have improved at VSU. Before college, Wynn didn’t have any compositional awareness. She was also not confident in her ability to utilize lighting. “After I had Professor Gheesling, all of that changed,” she remarked. “He taught me everything I needed to know to start exploring interesting compositions. He taught me not only how to find good natural lighting but how to manipulate it in the studio and in post with editing as well.” Now a typical day in the studio for her always begins with finding ideal lighting and composition before she takes a single photo. In doing this, she can spend less time editing and more time actually behind the camera.
However, Wynn’s drive to become a better photographer did not end inside Valdosta State University’s walls. Over the Summer of 2020, she was one of three individuals who studied with Maine-based photographer Benjamin Williamson. Wynn described the day as an intense and intimate learning experience. “We worked for a full day starting at six o’clock that morning and going nonstop until eight o’clock that night.” Throughout the fourteen hours of working, she took over 3,000 pictures. “Williamson helped me see things as a photographer would and it has greatly improved my abilities,” she said. Williamson also taught them new editing techniques that are often used in professional photography, specifically what is used by magazine publishers. His hands-on approach to teaching gave Wynn invaluable learning experience she wouldn’t have gotten otherwise.
Being in Maine helped Wynn become even more connected to her familial roots as well, as her grandfather was stationed there while he was in the Navy. Wynn’s photograph titled Together features two small wooden rowboats. One is facing straight ahead and the other has floated on a diagonal into the other boat. The photo was taken from an aerial angle, and the viewer sees the moment from above as the two boats touch. She says that it represents her grandfather traveling across the sea to be with her, just as these two boats have.
In her piece Guardian Angel, Wynn utilizes the photographic process of cyanotype– which involves producing a photographic image using a mixture of chemicals exposed to ultraviolet light– to explicitly highlight her relationship with her grandfather. The image was not originally taken by her, but she reprinted the negative to fit the narrative of her show. It depicts a young Wynn sitting with her grandfather in a recliner. According to Wynn, the choice of using cyanotype was to allude to the sadness-tinged nostalgia her grandfather makes her feel.
“I chose this body of work because my grandfather has passed and I chose to create work representing where he lived and his belongings to keep his memory alive.”
Hannah Wynn
Upon graduation, Wynn wishes to start her own photography business to specialize in portraiture. Her artistic goals are to learn how to utilize film as opposed to digital photography and to explore landscape photography in depth. She also passed along words of wisdom to current and future students of Valdosta State University who may need some encouragement: “No matter how hard it gets, it will all be worth it in the end. It has been a struggle to get where I am, but along with the support of my family, new friends, and professors I have met while studying here, I finally made it. I know that if I can do it, you can too.”
Avery Barnett is a Junior Bachelor of Arts student at Valdosta State University.