If someone had asked me when I was a little girl what I was going to be when I grow up, I would have said that I didn't know. What I did know was that I loved to travel and I really enjoyed all the beauty this world had to offer. Whether it was camping in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, exploring the hidden streets of Venice, or spending every spare minute I had wandering around New York City, I knew that in some way I would have to incorporate my wanderlust into some kind of career path.

The first time I got a camera in my hands, little known to me, my path in life had been chosen. It was my dad's old Ricoh from the late ‘60s. I photographed everything ... photographed and saved into numerous albums. To this day I can go back and see the first pictures I took and how I've progressed over the years.

Born and raised in Southern Connecticut, I was surrounded by quaint New England charm ... the White Christmases, the colorful palette of Autumn colors, the Atlantic's blue waters ... all at my doorstep.

Also at my doorstep and less than an hour's drive away, was my beloved New York City. NYC has always fascinated me with its diverse culture and mixture of old and new America. I so looked forward to the weekends when I could hop the train and spend my day exploring all this glorious city had to offer.

Through the years I've done a good deal of traveling. I've driven cross-country twice and lived in the Pacific Northwest as well as Florida before settling down in New Hampshire. I again found myself living in the heart of New England and only 30 minutes to a major city ... Boston. I'm living in the best of both worlds.

When shooting nature and landscapes, I want the viewer to see exactly as I saw ... to feel the way I felt. I want to transport them to that exact spot and be consumed by the beauty and peacefulness scene. I want it to speak to them.

When I photograph a city like Boston or NYC, I don't want it to be just "another city shot". I want to capture the essence of the neighborhoods that make up the city in a way that the lens cannot capture, bringing out the true spirit and substance of the scene and the people's influence on it. I try and capture the lifeblood and backbone of what makes this city unique as opposed to the usual standards such as NYC's Statue of Liberty or Boston's Fenway Park versus the root qualities of the neighborhoods that make these cities what they are.

Boston Art Photography

by Joann Vitali

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