I'm so excited! Today I release my latest collection Uncharted Territories!
This life changing adventure I have been on for the past year has been amazing. It's really been the last 11 years since I began my artistic journey. But this past year has been very significant. Here is my story from the VERY beginning up till this point!
My creative journey
I chose to follow a path of photography in the 11th grade. I had a very encouraging teacher and also grew up with my dad who was a photographer. After high school I decided to attend the Southeastern Center for photographic studies in Daytona Beach, FL. My dad was a continual influence in my photography through school, first teaching me film developing tricks he learned as a photojournalist.
Upon graduating I moved to Orlando and had three jobs working in photography studios printing and developing black and white film and a freelance job for The Weekly Magazine doing feature stories and reviews. My love was photographing children documentary style. I married and we moved to Northern CA. I took a full time job and only did photography on the side.
After having our second child, I quit to stay home with the two kids. I started an in home photography portrait business. This grew and we relocated back to Florida in 2002. I continued my portrait business in the Melbourne area and it grew. I specialized in black and white film and hand printing. It was going so well I needed to open an actual studio(not in my home) in 2005. At that time though we had our third child, then our forth a year later in 2006.
A few years later I was very burned out, the timing of needing to support a building purchase and adding 2 additional kids! After some personal hardships we decided to scale back my business. In my heart I was done with it! At that time I did not care if I ever picked up my camera again. I just continued to take work that came.
My heart wanted to just create from my spirit but I just couldn’t reach that part of myself to express it. In 2012 I went to a workshop with a friend up in NC. I’ve never looked back. That workshop, combined with my new faith in God was the spark that lit the fire of creativity within me. It was as if I could “see” for the first time. My heart mind and spirit were all aligned at the same time. My first project Dream Synergy was in 2012. Once I felt finished I had another idea waiting to be expressed. In the past 11 years I have completed about 10 conceptual projects as well as a couple on-going ones, One project after another each representing something in my spirit, each a part of a healing journey.
In 2020 I had some serious eye problems with 2 detached retinas. I actually thought that this could be the end for me with photography. I had a long year with 4 surgeries and was unable to drive for months, or even see my computer or read. But the good in this break, was I was able to do a lot of soul searching about how I want to use my life with my gift as an artist.
I started creating again in 2021 when my eyes were healed and my project “Between worlds TM” was born. It consisted of all underwater work. As time went on “Between worlds TM” really resonated in my mind. It spoke so deeply to my soul and the very heart of all my photographic work thus far. It was an epiphany for me. These words came to me about my work. “Between worlds TM” is the essence or the breath throughout all my photographic work. It’s a place where the viewer can explore and unveil the beauty of the unseen possibilities and intricacies of this life we now live and on into eternity.” I realized that all these bodies of work, 10 of them, was one giant story with several chapters. And each image had a story of its own. Between worlds TM is the title of my book/story and the collections are the chapters. This revelation was mind blowing to me to say the least.
This prompted me to take a larger look at “all” of my work. I printed out a small print of all the best images from each series. I had over 200 laid out on my dining room table. I spent hours editing them down into collections, or chapters if you will, I was able to incorporate my landscape and some still-life work that never seemed to have a home. I was also able to title each collection as if it were a chapter in a book, waiting to be discovered. These collections encompass the depth of my spirit and meaning from all of my created bodies of work. So far I have six collections with more to follow as I continue to create. My first collection is called “Uncharted territories.” It’s the beginning of the journey. I’m embarking into the unknown, on a path that is narrow and full of difficulty. But also I’m seeing with different eyes and hearing with different ears. As I walk , beauty upon beauty is unveiled for my eyes to see! Mysteries are revealed in things I could never think of on my own. This is only the beginning…
“Enter into a world of Uncharted territory, on a treasure seeking journey through the eyes of your heart.” Erika Masterson
Erika Masterson is a Fine Art Photographer, living her dream between two worlds, a lakeside cabin tucked in the Southern Appalachian mountains and a quiet beach town on Florida’s east coast.Erika and her husband Ed have 4 children and one granddaughter. Her children are often seen in her artistic works.
She received her degree in photography from the Southeastern Center for Photographic Studies in Daytona Beach, Florida in 1990. In 1999 opened her own commercial portrait business and has been working the past 20+ years in California and Florida.
In 2012 Erika expanded her Art including many exhibits and awards. Her most recent accolades; Solo Exhibition Soho Gallery New York; the Co-Jurors Choice award by Joyce Tenneson under the theme “The Intimate Portrait”; She was chosen as a Julia Margaret Cameron finalist for her series “A Message for my Daughter” and was selected as Black and White Magazine’s Portfolio Spotlight winner for her series Sara’s Sojourn.
Her quiet and soulful images have been published in numerous magazines such as Black and White Magazine 2014 & 2017, Victoria Magazine 2000 & 2016, Silvershotz Magazine, Shots Magazine, 5×5 Magazine, Bella Grace Magazine, Raine, Shadow & Light and In-Style Magazine. Erika recently has her images being sold around the world and on greeting cards with Palm Press and book covers. She has also self-published 4 books with her series of work.
