Hello all!

    My name is Andy, and I am currently living in Fairbanks, Alaska. I am a philosophy of science major here at UAF and a photographer with an interest in northern lights. Before moving throughout the north, I grew up in Binghamton, New York, about three hours north of New York City. After high school, I started spending a lot of time in northern countries, working for places to live and taking pictures of the auroras. I spent a little time in Iceland and then a few years in Canada before finally finding a place to call home in Alaska. I started my UAF life studying physics and math, which led me toward the natural sciences and philosophy path.

    As you can imagine, my most significant connection to art is through photography. I absolutely love building and testing cameras, which led me to take pictures more seriously. The technical side of cameras and attempting to build cameras that are good, particularly in low light, captured my interest, which brought me into the photography world! 

    I never had a lot of money, so buying broken and beaten-up cameras and then fixing/modding them for low light has been the most viable path for me to continue this type of photography. I also got into taking videos/doing real-time auroras, which allowed me to further invest time and money into these types of extreme low-light cameras. One of the most exciting aspects of these cameras, in particular, is that many are at the end of their lives when I get them/rebuild them, making it feel much more exciting if/when they work!

     

    While thinking about my favorite type of art, I kept circling back to auroras and things I work with in my professional life, but it would be a lie to say it is my favorite. Truthfully, these pixel scenes that pop up on my Instagram tend to give me the largest spike of joy to see. I even find myself staring at them and trying to find the "secret shiny Pokemon" hidden in them (those of you who loved Pokemon likely understand!). I also LOVE that these scenes have the music playing (click the link if you're curious!) and feel very lively. 

    I understand this type of art likely requires less skill or depth than others, but nostalgia is one of the strongest emotions I feel, and consequently, art that makes me feel nostalgic is the most captivating to me! Thank you for taking the time to read my blog post about me, my work, and the art that speaks to me the most! Have a great semester!

 -Andy

 

 Pokemon Art by Pixeladdy


Comments

  1. MariahJune 3, 2024 at 8:58 AM

    Hi Andy! I've always been interested in photography, but like you, I always felt the financial strain of buying cameras. I didn't even think about buying old/broken cameras and fixing them up—that's genius! Also, I agree that nostalgia is one of the strongest emotions; it could definitely lead to some substantial inspiration. Maybe you could look into creating pixel art?

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  2. anandamousJune 3, 2024 at 5:05 PM

    Hi Andy! Nice to meet you. I love the northern lights, that's a great picture of them you captured. I disagree with the notion that pixel art takes less skill/depth than other art forms. As someone looking to go into game design and thus dabbling in pixel art myself, despite how simple it can look sometimes, it is quite tough. There is a limited canvas space to work with, and every pixel placement matters. You need to be able to convey the character/item/location/etc using the limited amount of space. I do agree that pixel art invokes a feeling of nostalgia, especially since I grew up playing many pixelated games. Have a great semester!

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