Irina Summer

“Photography deals exquisitely with appearances, but nothing is what it appears to be.” ~Duane Michals

Irina Summer was born in Portland, Oregon in April of 1979 and raised the small liberal town of Ashland, Oregon. She has always loved looking at photographs, from old polaroids to fashion models in glossy magazines to war photography, surreal landscapes and abstract works.
When she was a teenager and had no idea how to connect with the world, the click sound of the shutter and the zen of exposure, framing, lights and shadows became a haven of expression and belonging. She would often spend her lunch money on black and white fuji film, loving the stark look without color. She learned darkroom techniques through a course at Oregon State University, and was delighted to have the experience of using large format cameras and unlimited free film.

Then one day she was inexplicably catapulted into an intense study of personal evolution and consciousness. During this time she studied art and design with a mentor along with teaching herself, and inspired by a gift of a Canon dslr, she fell in love with photography again, from a different perspective. After diving into the intoxicating world of digital graphics and the internet… she was hooked.

Irina captures not just what she sees, but seeks to evoke an experience beyond the physical, to share expansiveness and poignancy past personality and thought. Plus she likes to goof off and create art.

She currently uses a Canon Rebel XSI and her favorite lens is a 50mm f/1.8, which has fantastic bokeh. She uses Apple Aperture for organization and color correction, Adobe Photoshop for retouching and illustration, all on her iMac.
Her favorite plug-in right now is Noise Ninja. Because she also loves moving pictures, she is employed by Grokworld Productions where she creates motion graphics and effects. Irina still lives in Ashland, has a large shoe collection, enjoys watching House MD and drinks jasmine green tea.