Meet Etsy Photographer: Photopia

Vanessa grew up in Hong Kong, but later moved to Vancouver, BC for high school. She moved yet again t0 Berkeley, California for college and has been there ever since. "My full time job is in a field that is completely unrelated to creativity," she explains. "I am a health care finance consultant working for corporate America. Despite my career choice, I feel that deep down inside I am a creative soul." Aside from photography, she is an avid knitter (knitopia.etsy.com), but it is her ethereal photos that caught my eye. "I think because I have lived in different places and have been exposed to different cultures and the fact that I love traveling really open(ed) up my mind to new ideas and new perspectives. When I travel to new places is when my creative juices start flowing - unstoppable," she jokes. "There is so much beauty in this world. In the traditional sense, we have sunsets, natural landscapes, amazing architecture, all of which I love to photograph. But I also find beauty in the mundane, be it (the) flicker of a candle, a single rose, or even a cup. A good photographer can also turn something ugly in the traditional sense into a meaningful beautiful image capture." Photography has always fascinated her. "As a kid, without proper guidance and exposure, there were more disappointments than success," she remembers. "A big part of it was also that in the old days good quality photographic equipment was much less accessible to the general public because of price and technology; nowadays with the advent of digital photography and falling prices, it is relatively easy to get hold of reasonably good equipment, which in turns enables me to improve at a really fast pace." Surprisingly she took a break from her first love - and has only rekindled it fairly recently. "I have had my Etsy store since February of this year," she is proud to say. "Since it has not been that long, I honestly am still trying to find my own style and niche." While she experiments with a wide range f subjects, she admits she tends to gravitate toward "minimalism and simple geometry and lines within each frame." The peace and serenity of zen-like natural motifs also show up in her work. "Have confidence in your art and don't ever give up," she reminds her fellow Etsians. Please check out her shop: http://photopia.etsy.com/

-Wendy Baylis

Dharma Designs

http://dharmadesigns.etsy.com/