Known for his abstract landscapes, Kyle Worthy blends superior photography skills with unique post production to create his art.
“Abstracting the landscape” is Kyle Worthy’s way of ‘capturing places as they exist in memory, caught somewhere between reality and dream” (MoNA Gallery NODA | www.monacharlotte.com). Employing a “variety of in-camera and post-processing techniques,” Worthy uses his camera like a painter hones his brush.
It was at the age of 15 when Worthy first became interested in photography. “My mom always had a camera around her neck, so it was inevitable that I became interested,” he said. “She taught me how to load film, and choose the correct apertures and shutter speeds. It was for my 16th birthday –I think—that I received my first camera, a Canon A2.” According to Worthy, he “cut teeth, shooting sports on Friday nights at his high school football games.”
After high school, Worthy went off to university to study marketing. He tried working at the university’s marketing department as a photographer; however, digital technology was taking a hold in the department and he had not yet made the transition. As a result, photography took a “back seat” until he “was ready to return to the camera.” It was then that shooting pictures turned into a fine art.
Worthy considers himself a “translator.” Since most of his subjects come from the natural world, his role as a photographic artist is to look “for a spiritual connection within that world, to reveal the divine design and then translate that emotion through the camera. What happens,” says Worthy, “is incredibly exciting.”
Known for his abstract landscapes, Worthy uses a variety of in-camera and post-processing techniques, such as “intentional camera movements during exposure, composite blending in the digital darkroom, or texture layering.” But he admits to having the most fun with experimenting with finishing techniques. “For example,” Worthy explains, “in my series Untethered Land, I have the photos mounted on bamboo wood panels then I add a layer of wax coating to provide extra depth and texture to the image. Each image is therefore a unique work of art and cannot be replicated or reprinted.”
The camera and lens become Worthy’s tools to express an artistic vision. “The more time you spend developing your vision, the more focused your kit becomes,” says Worthy. No longer a “big gear head” Worthy’s creative process has “evolved” to a few good essentials. His primary camera being a Canon 5d Mark II with a trio of Canon lenses: the 17-40mm, 50mm, and 70-200mm.
Having traveled to many locales Worthy’s coolest experience was shooting aerial photography in Alaska. “From that prospective, the landscape turns into a myriad of patterns. Shapes, colors, textures all seem to reveal themselves on the earth’s canvas.” But if you ask him where he enjoys photographing subjects in and around Charlotte, Worthy admits to driving the back roads below south Charlotte in search of “great light and inspiration.” Some of his favorite works admittedly have been done in and around Charlotte from his car window.
As a photographer, artist, and visionary, Worthy wants to continue working on his craft developing his vision while creating work that he can proudly exhibit. “It would be great if people join me on this journey, and I invite them to do so,” says Worthy. You will find him featured at the MoNA Gallery during the Relative Simplicity exhibit March 1st-April 27th, for further information go to www.kyleworthy.com.
