Bio:
Ginger Goekjian was born in Columbia, South Carolina in 1954. She worked at the University of Georgia for 30 years in the fields of plant molecular biology and wildlife diseases. Ginger and Karekin have lived on Sapelo Island, Georgia since 2014. Ginger took her first photograph at the age of 55 one night at Providence Canyon, Georgia at the urging of her husband photographer Karekin. A whole new world opened to her. She began with taking pictures at night using, as light sources, flashlights for interiors and flashlights and the full moon for exteriors. She picked up tips on how to do night work from Karekin but when he gave her his old Nikon D70 he told her to “go figure it out”. Ginger fell in love with taking pictures and started taking pictures during the day as well, always drawn by curiosity and awe of how light transforms the ordinary into the extraordinary. It has become a means of connection for her and of being present in the moment.
Statement:
Camellias have nostalgic meaning to me. My grandfather grew them in South Carolina and entered them into shows. Even though he died before I was born his love of them was passed down to my mother who grew them as well. She knew the names of different cultivars and had her favorites. When I think of camellias I think of my mom and my grandfather, but I also think of the South which is where I was born and grew up. There is a connection to the land.
My mom taught me to float the beautiful blooms in a bowl of water. I found a bowl I like and put some blooms in water. The rim of the container was shaped like petals and to hold them like petals do the center of a flower. In this image the sweet color of the pink blossoms was brought out by sunlight coming from the window which made an interesting shadow from the bowl itself.
