While most people are taking refuge from the storm, Creemore photographer Alicia Lawson is watching through the lens of her camera.
Lawson is showing nine stormscapes taken last summer and this spring at the Curiosity House Books gallery.
“With all the crazy weather we started to have it was kind of hard to not grab the camera and run out after the storms because the clouds were so amazing,” said Lawson. “There has always been something that fascinated me about clouds and the way they affect the landscape and the way things look after a big rain.”
Lawson began taking photos as a teenager and eventually developed her artistic style. After studying psychology at university, Lawson went back to school to study photography, graduating in 2008.
Upon moving back to her hometown of Creemore three years ago, Lawson started a photography business at the age of 27.
Lawson is part of the Creemore Shop and Co-op and displays her work at the Mill Street store under the name of Abandoned Echoes Photography.
Her subjects of choice are landscapes and derelict buildings, especially farmhouses and barns she finds while touring the Simcoe County.
Curiosity is what first drew Lawson to investigate those forsaken spaces. She wondered what was inside, why did the people leave and why did they leave items behind?
“What’s the story here? I get a lot of feedback from people who say that they feel that my photos do tell a story. It’s like telling a story after the story, just a little piece of the mystery of the place or a certain house or a building,” said Lawson. “There’s a certain feeling I get in certain places where it kind of feels like home to me in a strange way. The mystery and the curiosity is a huge draw.”
Lawson’s show continues until May 31.
Visit www.abandoned-echoes.com.