Thomas Lemke

media release: Thomas Lemke:  From Dark to Light - A Collection of Wisconsin Spring Botanical Photographs

University of Wisconsin - Madison Arboretum

 March 2 through April 27, 2023

artist statement:

I’ve been photographing tiny spring plants for six years and now I’m very excited to have 26 images in this solo show.   With this micro and macro photography I’m exploring the moods and emotions I find in spring flowers and other botanicals.  All of the images were created in my studio in Langlade County.  Really, it’s just the porch of our cabin but there is good light and I can work on my subjects without them being blown around by the wind.  I dig out the whole plant, put it in a pot, photograph and then replant.

The use of light and shadow is very important to this work.  My photographs of emergent plants, ferns and others, are often composed of low-key, dark tones.  I explore forms that seem to exist at the border of animate and inanimate.  Wisconsin wildflower blossoms though, vibrate with color and design so my compositions of them are expressed in lighter tones and color.  This exhibit explores a range of tones and the feeling I have for my subjects.

About my gear:   I equip my Canon 5D with a Canon MP-E 56mm macro lens that can magnify up to five times actual size.  This sits on a Cognisys Stack-Shot computer-controlled stepper focusing rail that lets me focus stack the images of the subject.  One photo may be made up of over 100 individual frames.  The “stack” of frames is then combined with the Zerene Stacker computer program into one image. Normally close-up photos are a little bit in focus and a lot of the image way out of focus.  The benefit of my system is that I can get the subject all in focus…or partially in focus. As a control freak, this is very appealing.  The viewer gets an experience of seeing a massive amount of detail of something that is mostly overlooked.

Link to my blog post about this show:  https://crossingunevenground.com/exhibits-featuring-my-photographs/