Danielle Schuster
Commercial Video
(2022-)
Commercial Photo (2021-)
Silent Calls of Falling Trees (2023)
Five Days in Fairbanks (2020-)
Between Home & Home (2021)
Journal (2019-)
About
CV
Silent Calls of Falling Trees studies the patriarchal history of landscape photography, and how both personal and shared experiences affect my practice of image-making in natural spaces. This investigation began after a desire to embark on a solo photographic road trip. At my second destination I was approached and harassed while making images in a park. Met with a mixture of fear and frustration I began to deeply consider two questions-
How do you make photographs on the road as a woman?
How can you see the land with one eye behind you?
While using photography and writing to mediate answers for these questions, more have accumulated. How can I know when to be cautious? How can I make myself larger or smaller in a space? Who is this form of image making made for?
Silent Calls of Falling Trees implements self-portraiture, flash, and the inclusion of the camera to investigate these prompts, as well as themes of surveillance. Over time, these personal investigations have been supplemented by research. The writings of Deborah Bright have shaped my understanding of the problematic history of landscape photography, while the writings of Robin Wall Kimmerer, Val Plumwood, and additional ecofeminist pieces have led me to thoroughly consider how I interact with the natural world around me.
These images act as an expression of the complicated relationship I’ve had with this form of image making. Yet, as I become further entangled in this process of making, I am continuously and compassionately reminded of how I can rely on natural spaces for comfort, relief, and meditation.