Welcome to our column that discovers, investigates, and highlights fine art photographic work from an international forum of creatives. Aptly named “Traverse” and written by contributing editor, Michael Kirchoff.

Within this column, I strive to look at photographs and processes that reside outside of the familiar American bubble that we see more often than not. The aim is in examining not simply our similarities and differences, but also the common thread of making photographs in our shared process and goals.

—Michael Kirchoff, Contributing Editor

Amy Kanka Valadarsky

One of the things I love to see is someone doing whatever it takes to make an image work for them. It doesn't matter if it's digital or analog, though often (these days), it's a combination of both. For this latest installment of Traverse, I have my eye on Amy Kanka Valadarsky. I've been watching her and her process and how she makes every effort to create imagery with precisely what works for her. Originally hailing from Romania, she now resides in Israel, making photographs that speak to people on a deeper level. She came to photography later in her life and career and has developed a way of creating images that are open-minded in their method and approach. I'm thrilled to finally showcase her work, Once there was, and once there was not, and feel that others will immediately gravitate to her practice and photographs.

As mentioned, Amy was born in Romania and spent the better part of her childhood there, and then at age nine, immigrated to Israel, making the town of Even Yehuda her home now. With a mother as a math teacher and a father as an engineer, the arts were not on the immediate agenda for future education and employment: "It was implicitly understood I should study something practical that brings a 'real salary' to support myself. My parents loved and appreciated art as part of general culture, not as a way to live." Studying software engineering and entering the Israeli hi-tech industry took up the better part of 25 years before an interest in the arts became the overriding desire. Finally, in 2014, Amy arrived at a professional crossroads and left the known path of software solutions to explore a very different career in photography and art-making. An initial foray into bead making and jewelry design eventually brought her to lens-based work from a need to document her creations for sale. Over the next four years, she immersed herself in studying and practicing both digital and analog photographic practices in the U.S. and Israel. 

With a tendency to learn by herself, either from online classes or books, Amy's curiosity will cause her to take a deep dive into whatever topic interests her. Her initial foray into photography began digitally, but later the lure of the darkroom took hold. In addition to traditional gelatin silver printing, lith printing, cyanotypes, lumen printing, and even chemigrams became much enamored processes full of opportunity and found places in various bodies of work. In addition, an instinctual way of actively photographing, mixed with a bit of serendipity, results in imagery she then reflects upon later in order to make her final photographs: "When I try to think and plan the image, I am rarely happy with the results. I need 'the magic' of the unknown to be part of the process."

"I am a process person. Creating the image is as important to me as the final result. I strive to find the process that embodies or enables what I want to express. In some cases, it is pure digital; in others, pure analog, and sometimes a combination of the two.

Staying perceptive to the world around her while embracing all of the tools at her disposal seems to be working quite effectively for Amy. Her passion for learning and growing from a less than typical way into the arts is inspirational. It reminds me of the unlimited possibilities that are out there for image-makers. My hope is that you might feel the same and take what you see and read here and move through life carrying these sensibilities that are clearly a tried and true approach. Amy Kanka Valadarsky brings a deeper meaning to her work through process and intuition not always found in the art world. I, for one, will continue watching and learning from her myself. Please investigate further by visiting her website for more - you won't be sorry.

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About the artist

Amy Kanka Valadarsky was born in 1964 in Romania, where she spent her first eight years before her family moved to Israel, the place she calls home. After graduating as a software engineer, she started what was to become a 25 years long career in the telecommunication industry, traveling around the globe designing and implementing software solutions. In 2014, after leaving the hi-tech world, Amy returned to her creative roots and opened a new chapter of her life as a fine art photographer.

Amy's work was selected as a Critical Mass 2017 Top 50, as well as featured in SHOTS, Rfotofolio, The Hand, Black&White Magazine, Lenscratch, and exhibited in a variety of galleries and photo festivals such as PhotoLA 2016, Carmel Center for Photographic Art, and the Griffin Museum at Lafayette City Center (Boston). 

She lives with her husband, the dog, and two cats in Even Yehuda, Israel.

Website: amykankaphotography.com

About the author

Michael Kirchoff works in the worlds of both commercial and fine art photography. A commercial shooter for over thirty years, it is his fine art work that has set him apart from others, with instant film and toy camera images fueling several bodies of work. His consulting, training, and overall support of his fellow photographic artist continues with assistance in constructing one’s vision, reviewing portfolios, and finding exhibition opportunities, which fill the gaps in time away from active shooting. 

Michael is also an independent curator and juror, and advocate for the photographic arts. Currently, he is also Editor-in-Chief at Analog Forever Magazine, and is the Founding Editor for the online photographer interview website, Catalyst: Interviews. Previously, Michael spent over four years as Editor at BLUR magazine.