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Business & Tech

Q & A: Sylvia Valentine

Local nature photographer talks about succulents, how she got started, and her favorite places to shoot in Santa Cruz.

I first ran into local nature photographer Sylvia Valentine at a Valentine's Day sale at the Homeless Garden Project store, where she was selling her prints and donating half of the proceeds to the organization. Her colorful photographs capture the details of nature, from the macro curves of the heart of a succulent to the heart-shaped opening to a cave she visited in Arizona.

Valentine didn't go to school for photography, but she has an eye for detail and the passion to match. After taking photographs while traveling in New Zealand two years ago, Valentine's friends and family urged her to keep at it, and she took up the side hobby. Now Valentine never leaves home without her camera, and her relaxed attitude keeps it a fun passion rather than a job. 

Patch caught up with the artist for a quick interview, and here is what she had to say:

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Scotts Valley Patch: What is it about nature that draws you?

Sylvia Valentine: I love being out in nature and traveling, whether just a day or a month or longer. So photographing all that feels natural for me. We prefer side roads to highways and natural landscapes to city travel, so that's what I'm around the most. I like finding subtle light and color and shapes, and framing things in nature that attract me or give me a certain emotion. It's like a game or puzzle, and I take tons of pictures and go through them later to see what says "wow" and what I love, and focus on that. It's very organic. I don't always scope out a place and wait for hours there; I'm not patient enough for that! 

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Patch: Succulents are a common theme in your work. Do you have a favorite subject to shoot in nature?

Valentine: Yes, succulents are a new love for me. We have a bunch at our home in Corralitos and we love going to Succulent Gardens nursery in Moss Landing, with their vertical living pictures and so many exotic varieties. Succulents are so diverse, and many of them are large, so I can really zoom in on them or get a nice variety look. It seems everyone loves succulents, too. You can do so many fun things with them. I'm also forgetful about watering plants, so succulents survive better with me!

I also love trees and leaves, bare branches like my "sepia oak," and light coming through leaves. But sometimes it’s hard to see a definite pattern in what I photograph. I also like macro work and would like to do more with that, seeing the micro "landscape" in everyday items like leaf veins and the inner heart of a succulent plant. So much pattern and life and color. It's never ending what I can find. 

Patch: You've come an amazingly long way since you began a short while ago in 2008. Do you have any advice to other artists in Santa Cruz County on taking the plunge you did to sell their artwork?

Valentine: Yes, it's true. I just ran with it after encouragement from friends and family and went one step at a time, doing smaller clip frame prints at a local coffee shop and expanding and learning from there. Connecting with other artists is great; there's so much support, and you get ideas about materials and product and inspiration, plus venues to show work.

Looking for free venues is great to get started, like First Friday, and experimenting with different places (hair salons, cafes, galleries, retail stores). I've had many requests for advice on marketing and getting started that I'm working on a guidebook to offer my insight and experience for others.

I love networking and sharing ideas and community support. We need that, plus it's just more fun than doing it alone. 

Patch: What kind of camera do you shoot with?

Valentine: Up until recently, my camera was a Lumix FZ35—just a nice point-and-shoot—so you don't even need a fancy camera. The smaller ones are so good these days. My iPhone takes great photos. It's more about the eye than the fancy lenses, in my opinion. I love my Nikon D3100, too, and would love a bigger lens and a macro lens. There's always a new toy to wish for. 

Patch: You have a relaxed attitude about your photography, too. How do you think this benefits your art?  

Valentine: It lets me be me and not feel the pressure of anything. I just take the pictures I like to take and show them when I want to. It's a side passion, and not "having" to make money with it makes it relaxed, too. It certainly feels great to get paid for a piece and know that someone is really enjoying it, but it's not why I do it.

I love it. I love finding new photos and locations and, of course, traveling, so I'll always have a camera with me, even to and from work and running errands. You never know when the sunset will be amazing or you'll see something special.

On a Costco run on a rainy day, I captured this amazing droplet of water (macro) on a tree branch, and it's become a best seller for me! It's almost always spontaneous like that, too. I don't necessarily seek out spots and pressure myself to get a certain shot. That makes a difference for me. And I think that comes through in my work. 

Patch: You donate some of your proceeds to local and environmental organizations, right? 

Valentine: Yes! I love to work with nonprofits like the Homeless Garden Project (for its annual pre-holiday store on Pacific Avenue, donating 50 percent to its vision) and in its store at Depot Park. I also donate work to various silent auctions around town and, in general, donate a portion of all my proceeds to environmental project I've worked with personally, like the Pachamama Alliance based in SF and _Awakening the Dreamer. They do amazing education work around environmental sustainability, spiritual fulfillment and social justice issues. I feel passionate about connecting people with causes that speak to them, whatever it is, to find a way to give back and be of service, to find something that your heart connects with. 

Patch: Scotts Valley Artisan displays your work; how has it been working those artists?

Valentine: I love the idea of a collaborative of artists in the community. It's brilliant—a win for people shopping to find so much great local art in one place and a win for artists to share retail space. I just started, so it's an experiment for me to see how it goes. The opening night was packed with hundreds of people, and they're planning great events and fairs and art classes, so it's more than just a retail store.

Patch: What are you inspired by lately? 

Valentine: I'm inspired by succulents, for sure! And especially trees. I've wondered what my real niche might be in photography and I notice that I adore anything with trees, reaching branches, leaves, sunlight coming through, roots, blossoms. My name means "Maiden of the Woods," so that's right on target! 

Patch: What's your favorite place to shoot in Santa Cruz? 

Valentine: Succulent Gardens Nursery in Moss Landing, Carmel and Monterey; Kim Son Monastery in Watsonville; Land of Medicine Buddha in Soquel; our home in Corralitos; La Selva Beach; and mostly unknown or unnamed spots—anywhere something strikes my fancy.

Valentine won the First Place Gold Award for Best Photographer in the Santa Cruz Weekly's Readers Poll in 2011, and Runner-up Best Photographer in the Santa Cruz Good Times Readers Poll for 2010 and 2011.

Her photographs can be found all over the county, including Scotts Valley Artisans, Oceanview Gift Shop on Mount Madonna, Bookshop Santa Cruz, Inner Light Ministries gift shop in Soquel and The Herb Room in Santa Cruz.

Her photographs are also now showing at Aptos Coffee Roasting through April 30. 

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