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The Artist’s Corner – Taking Pictures With Rosita Larsson, Photographer

October 5, 2017 By in The Artist's Corner Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 7 Comments

Several years ago, a collection of artists pursuing various art forms found themselves in a group message on Twitter complimenting each other’s work and wishing each other a great day.  This went on for some time, and out of this a few became particularly close.  They followed each other on Facebook and via blogs, and their friendships became closer.  Although they’ve never met (their relationships are still bound up in social media), their separation didn’t reduce the fondness they had for each other or the appreciation they expressed toward the individual’s chosen art form.

As one of those artists, I’d like to feature my friend, Rosita Larsson, and her amazing skill as a photographer.  Rosita was interested and willing to answer my questions for The Artist’s Corner.  The little bit of language barrier between us wasn’t a problem at all.  That’s probably because her English is much better than my Swedish!  Without further ado, allow me to introduce Rosita Larsson, photographer.

Tell me a little bit about yourself.

My name is Rosita Larsson.  I am a bighearted, international, Swedish autodidact and artist born in 1956.  I am the mother for four and grandmother of five.  I am a very kind person who expresses what is on her mind.  In my soul and heart, I hold the freedom and beauty that is art.  Creation has been a driving force and a salvation my whole life and through my own personal illness as well as my career spanning more than thirty years.  The best addition to creation is to put a smile on someone’s face, to inspire, and to help out!  I have always created in some form and began exhibiting intermittently for over thirty years, both as an individual and in group exhibitions.  I’ve exhibited worldwide in places such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Bulgaria, and France.

Do you put yourself into your photography?

I put my soul into my photography just like when I create.  And I have the eye as you might say.

What has your experience been?

I see myself as an artist first; one who photographs and does artwork, like painting or drawing.  I’ve always created in some form.  I worked in a laboratory with perfumes and essences, worked in stock and stores that sold beautiful things and clothes. I have worked with kindergarten children doing arts and crafts.  I’ve worked in offices, the latest being the Economy Department.  I’ve created brochures, layouts, etc. outside of my regular office work.  These are my ‘livelihood projects,’ and as I was the sole provider for my family, I created and participated in exhibitions in my free time.  In addition to the above, I’ve worked as a class Ma/PTA worker, a leader for leisure activities, in theater groups, and union work.

Did your work experience lead to the pursuit of photography?

I was always the one who photographed all the conferences, company meetings, my family first and foremost, and quite a lot of people.  I seldom photograph people now days except my family, of course.  But I held back my passion for photographing abstracts and flowers, etc.  It was very expensive with film in addition to the specific camera I wanted.

How did you develop your passion for photography?

From when I was eight years old, I loved to photograph (borrowed my grandmother’s Kodak Instamatic).  I got my first camera a couple years later.  Since then, photography has been one of my major interests.  But things happen, and I had to limit photography to my wonderful family, a flower, or a stone or brick wall now and then.  I have always written, created, and primarily painted and drawn, but when the digital camera made its entry, I began more and more to photograph.  And guess what I always have with me:  my camera.

What or who is your inspiration?

Everything!  The experience rich life, and then I have a passion for flowers and architecture.  I see motivation and beauty in almost everything which makes the ordinary seem extraordinary.  I look upward and see angles to construct photo art.  I see subjects everywhere to the extent that it can be difficult which is why I prefer to be alone when I photograph.  When I’m with others, I give them the focus, show consideration, and listen, but when I photograph, I give the objects the focus!

What do you enjoy photographing?

Multiple POVs in reflections, in water, mirrors, windows.  Wherever I am on earth, I always have a camera with me.  It’s like a treasure hunt:  which designs, patterns, funny things, or flowers does my eye find today?  It doesn’t matter if it’s on a trip abroad or to the local grocery store; the treasure hunt is always there.  This applies to all aspecst of my life, too, when I’m in the woods searching for sticks and material to create with, searching for the best recipes or creating my own personal best.  At flea markets, secondhand stores, and vintage shops, I’m always looking for treasures.

That’s why my photos can be about almost anything.  Some things are my absolute passion such as flowers and stone in all forms (such as walls), water in all forms, and buildings (especially old houses and churches).  I get a lot of inspiration for my photographs, and a lot of people get inspired by my photographs.  It’s a win/win situation!

My photographs are completely true as you see it.  I don’t use Photoshop or other programs, no manipulation, alterations, or processing.

Where can someone find you online?  Do you have a website?

You can find me here:  Rosita Larrson

or here: Rosita Larsson Art Collections

In which contests have you competed?  What awards have you won?

Awards won in Design/Crystal Chandelier/Krebs 2006

Botanical and floral photographs have won awards in Sweden 2012

Photographers Forum/Sigma USA Awarded in 35th Annual 2015

Premio Drops from the World, National Civil War Victims Association

Culture and Peace Education/Honorable Mention

Witness of Peace and Solidarity, Italy, September 2016

Attestato di Meriot Artistico 2012 – 2017, many exhibitions in Italy

Conferisce il titolo di laurea ad honorem, Globalart Galleria, Italy, June 2017

Have you been featured in a magazine or other publication?

Libro Co. italia

The book is in English.  I have three works in this anthology along with other poets and artists from several countries.  The purchase helps supply filters to purify water in Bangladesh.  So far, it’s yielded pure water for three villages.

Right now, I am the Featured Artist of the Month in Sanctuary Magazine on the Internet.

Do you take photos for people?  How does a client contact you?

Yes, and I participate and use my art in different charities.  It’s a passion!  Potential clients may contact me here:  larssonzita@hotmail.com

What is your process for photographing people?

I rarely photograph people nowadays.  I go into photography focused as if in another world.  It’s calmer and almost like meditation for me.

How is what you shoot for yourself different from what you take for other people?

It’s painting with the camera, so no difference.

Has your work ever been used for commercial purposes?

Not that I know of!

What’s your favorite photograph that you’ve taken?

Oh, dear—so many favs!  I have about 25,000 photos on my computer.  Not all of them are favs, of course, but many of them are in different ways because I photograph many different styles and objects, abstracts, macro, still life, nature, etc., etc.  Three is a charm, so I’ll take one of my still lifes, one macro, and my latest from this summer, a multiple POV/reflection photo.  (View Rosita’s photographers throughout the post.)

What’s your dream photograph?

The Aurora Borealis/ Northern Lights and the pyramids without the tourists.

What’s your biggest complaint with photography?

I take too many photographs, and I see too much motivation everywhere!  Also, I need a meaning with everything, so that’s a paradox.

Would you like to work full-time as a photographer?  If so, how do you see your business growing?

No, but as an artist whether it’s with a camera, brush, or pen.  I would like to do book illustrations and covers for example.

Do you work alone or with a partner?

Alone, but after I have done my artwork, I like to work on different projects with others.

Operation Hailstone

May 24, 2017 By in Research Road, The Secrets of Dr. John Welles Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

While my protagonist, Dr. John Welles, and one of his best friends, Dr. Sam Feldman, joined the Army as civilian doctors to participate in the European Theater, his other best friend, Claude Willoughby, joined the Navy as a pilot to serve in the Pacific Theater.

In my novel, The Secrets of Dr. John Welles, Claude and his wife, Patsy, move to California after suffering a personal tragedy.  Patsy spends her days volunteering in a pediatric ward to work through her grief, and Claude obtains a pilot license to keep his mind off their loss.

You’ll find previous research I used to create Claude’s experience in the blog post Straighten Up & Fly Right.  Today’s post is in regards to Claude’s involvement as a World War II Navy pilot flying in the battle for the Caroline Islands.

Japanese troops occupied the Caroline Islands in 1914 during World War I.  After the war, Japan received a League of Nations mandate over them.  However, the League of Nations imposed restrictions on Japan between 1914 and 1933.  During this time, Japan was not able to build up the Caroline Islands for military purposes.  In 1933, Japan’s withdrawal from the League of Nations gave her the freedom to do just that.

Prior to the Pacific War, the atoll of Truk was built as a forward naval base.  It had five airfields, several seaplane and torpedo boat bases, and repair facilities.  During World War II, a radar station was also constructed.  It also served as an anchorage in favor over Ulithi Atoll.

The base at Truk was destroyed in February, 1944, by American airpower in Operation Hailstone, and was cut off for the remainder of the war.  The attack by the United States involved a combination of airstrikes, surface ship actions, and submarine attacks over two days.  The Japanese appeared to be completely taken by surprise.  Operation Hailstone is sometimes called the equivalent to the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Several daylight and nighttime airstrikes against the base at Truk employed fighters, dive bombers, and torpedo aircraft in attacks on Japanese airfields, aircraft, shore installations, and ships in and around the Truk anchorage.  American surface ships and submarines guarded potential exit routes from the island’s anchorage with the purpose of preventing any Japanese ships from escaping.

The Caroline Islands became part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands administered by the United States after the World War II.  The Federated States of Micronesia was formed in 1986 and gained sovereignty over the Caroline Islands.

I’ll Drink to That

November 14, 2016 By in Research Road, The Secrets of Dr. John Welles Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 2 Comments

ill-drink-to-thatWhen you ask people about Prohibition in the United States, the response they most readily provide is that for some strange reason it became illegal to drink alcohol of any kind. This is usually accompanied by mystified looks and slow shakes of the head.

Unfortunately, what many don’t know is why this occurred and that it was actually part of our Constitution at one time. So, here’s a little history lesson born of my own need to understand Prohibition more thoroughly for the sake of my novel, The Secrets of Dr. John Welles.

By definition, Prohibition was the legal prevention of the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcoholic beverages in the United States from 1920 to 1933 under the terms of the Eighteenth Amendment. Note that the consumption and private possession of alcohol was not illegal, so what a person already owned could be enjoyed in his or her own home. Just drink responsibly and sparingly as it was now tougher to resupply one’s stash.

The National Prohibition Act, known informally as the Volstead Act, set down methods for enforcing the Eighteenth Amendment, and defined which intoxicating liquors were prohibited, and which were excluded from Prohibition (e.g., for medical and religious purposes). The Amendment was the first to set a time delay before it would take effect following ratification, and the first to set a time limit for its ratification by the states. Its ratification was certified on January 16, 1919, with the amendment taking effect on January 16, 1920. For the following 13 years Prohibition was officially in effect, though the ability to enforce it was limited by the Volstead Act and by corrupt and complacent politicians who overlooked illicit manufacturing and smuggling.

The Anti-Saloon League’s Wayne Wheeler conceived and drafted the bill, which was named for Andrew Volstead, Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, who managed the legislation. The Anti-Saloon League was the leading organization lobbying for Prohibition in the United States in the early 20th century.

So, why all this hatred toward alcohol? The Eighteenth Amendment was the result of decades of effort by the Temperance Movement in the United States and at the time was generally considered a progressive amendment. The Temperance Movement, which went back as far as the late eighteenth century, was born of the concern for alcoholism and how it played into spousal abuse, family neglect, and chronic unemployment. However, the desire for cheap, plentiful alcohol led to relaxed ordinances on alcohol sales, and the problem persisted.

A tract published in 1784 by Benjamin Rush detailing how excessive use of alcohol was harmful to one’s physical and psychological health. Many people got on board with the idea, initially proposing temperance rather than abstinence, but like most well-meaning organizations, political in-fighting stalled the group.

Throughout the decades, the Temperance Movement received support from various religious denominations and temperance groups, but it also took a back seat to issues such as slavery during the Civil War. It wasn’t until the third wave of temperance that any movement achieved success. With the formation of The Anti-Saloon League by Rev. Howard Hyde Russell in 1893, the Temperance Movement found footing not by demanding that politicians change their drinking habits, only their votes in the legislature. Under the leadership of Wayne Wheeler, the Anti-Saloon League stressed political results and perfected the art of pressure politics. The Anti-Saloon League’s motto was “the Church in action against the saloon,” and it mobilized its religious coalition to pass state and local legislation, establishing dry states and dry counties.

By the late nineteenth century, most Protestant denominations and the American wing of the Catholic Church supported the movement to legally restrict the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages. These groups believed that alcohol consumption led to corruption, prostitution, spousal abuse, and other criminal activities. Brewers and distillers resisted the reform movement, which threatened to ruin their livelihood, and also feared women having the vote, because they expected women to vote for Prohibition. The Anti-Saloon League achieved its main goal of passage of the Eighteenth Amendment on December 18, 1917.

Just after the Eighteenth Amendment’s adoption, there was a significant reduction in alcohol consumption among the general public and particularly among low-income groups. Consumption soon climbed as underworld entrepreneurs began producing rotgut alcohol, and the speakeasy quickly replaced the saloon. Likewise, there was a general reduction in overall crime, mainly in the types of crimes associated with the effects of alcohol consumption, though there were significant increases in crimes involved in the production and distribution of illegal alcohol.

Those who continued to use alcohol tended to turn to organized criminal syndicates, who were able to take advantage of uneven enforcement, suddenly overwhelmed police forces, and corruptible public officials to establish powerful, murderous smuggling networks. Anti-prohibition groups arose and worked to have the Amendment repealed once it became apparent that Prohibition was an unprecedented catastrophe.

The Amendment was repealed in 1933 by ratification of the Twenty-first Amendment, the only instance in United States history that a constitutional amendment was repealed in its entirety.

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