Nuance Erika Masterson 2020
“Nuance”
In a recent service our pastor brought up the word “Nuance”. I’ve sorta been secretly obsessed with nuance, so here are my thoughts added with photography analogies! (Cause I can’t help it!😂)
One of the characteristics of being a “peace maker” is understanding the complexities of people and situations; that it’s not just black and white. Nuance is the complexity, the grey area in between. Black and white thinking is the opposite of being a peace maker. It’s a gift to understand the nuance. This got me thinking about black and white film/prints as the perfect analogy. It’s black and white yes, but only the extreme ends of the scale are actually pure black or pure white. All the tones from 2 through 9 are different complex shades of grey. First and For-most , “light” is what creates all the tones. Those tones are made from a blending of the black and white. It’s those tones that give the print luminance and life. And just like this, God is in the details and the blending. He’s in the nuance. The truth lives in the in-between, in the subtleties and gradations. If we only see the black or the white we miss him. We miss mercy and empathy. We become legalistic and quick to judge, quick to condemn. Quick to divide. If a black and white print was just pure black and pure white, it would have too much contrast, sharpness, harshness . This is what we see when we don’t look for the nuance.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.Matthew 5:9 nu·ance/ˈn(y)o͞oˌäns/
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noun
noun: nuance; plural noun: nuances
- a subtle difference in or shade of meaning, expression, or sound."the nuances of facial expression and body language
- verb: nuance; 3rd person present: nuances; past tense: nuanced; past participle: nuanced; gerund or present participle: nuancing give nuances to."the effect of the music is nuanced by the social situation of listeners Similar: fine distinction, subtle distinction/difference, shade, shading, gradation, variation, modulation, degree, subtlety, nicety
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.
