A Parallel Planets piece by Michelle Rae
Parallel Planets presents Penny Felts
in Dreaming Through Photographs
Story and Interview by Michelle Rae Uy
Mentioned: instant photography, soft focus, and storytelling
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Every good photographer has a vision unique to her, a vision that is hers and hers alone. Every remarkable photographer, however – in my humble opinion – is aware of how she sees the world. And she takes what she sees and learns to uncover in herself her own way of capturing and recreating it in her photographs so that those photographs become a sort of extension of her, if not a series of vignettes of how she sees the world.
Conceptual analogue photographer Penny Felts sees the world in soft focus, in glorious blur. And she has learned and mastered the art of recreating that softness in her photography. Taking advantage of the magic of light, she takes inspiration from poetry and from her dreams to capture her enchanted hazy world mainly with the use of instant film, which is her favorite medium. The result is a gallery of dreamy and sometimes obscure photographs that make people feel like they’ve just been transported to an everlasting dream sequence.
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| photo by Penny Felts |
Penny’s fascination and passion for photography started when she was very young, from watching her mother constantly capture memories and record important events in their lives. Today, she’s taken her mother’s penchant for documentation through film cameras one step further by taking timeless portraits of the people in her life.
Another thing that makes her a wonderful photographer is her inherent talent to capture her subjects with such intimacy, with such openness. She manages to catch her subjects at their most vulnerable, seemingly with ease, that it’s almost as if they’re baring their private innermost selves to the world, naked yet completely at ease.
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| photo by Penny Felts |
No surprise, she’s been published and featured in multiple photography magazines and her work has appeared in many shows in different cities all over the world, including Paris and London.
And this year, Penny started this wonderful side project, aptly named The 12.12 Project, in an effort to take her photography in a different direction and encourage others who have sort of hit the wall in their own work to follow suit. This project, which would run for an entire year and is in its 8th month now, was created by her as a way to break away from stagnation, from shooting the same things over and over again, and to challenge photographers to step out of their comfort zones. With her are 11 other women photographers from all over the world whose main medium is also instant film. Every month, they choose a single suggested theme and each one shoots a photograph based on that theme.
She is also planning on publishing a book and holding a worldwide touring exhibit for the project at the end of its 12-month period.
Penny’s flair for transforming and weaving her unique view of the world into such wonderful and dreamlike photographs makes her a remarkable photographer; that much is true. But with all these features and projects in her portfolio, I think we can all agree that she is on her way to becoming an even greater one.
To know more about Penny Felts and her beautiful, dreamy photographs, read on to her interview below.
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| photo by Penny Felts |
Parallel Planets: Tell something about Penny Felts as an (instant) photographer and before you became one.
Penny Felts: "I am the youngest of three. My dad was in the navy for 20 years, so we traveled a lot when I was young. My mom always had a camera around her neck, which is what inspired me to shoot. I had my first darkroom class in the 7th grade. I was introduced to my first Polaroid camera about the same time. I’ve always believed in magic, and watching images appear on paper or that little three inch square is definitely magic."
Parallel Planets: When/How did your inclination with (instant) photographer begin?
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| photo by Penny Felts |
Parallel Planets: What defines your artistic style? What are your “trademarks”?
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| photo by Penny Felts |
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| photo by Penny Felts |
Penny Felts: "Because my vision is pretty bad, I see the world in soft focus. I actually like it that way. I only put on glasses to read. So, the soft focus that naturally happens with instant film is something that I love. Also, I like to tell a story with my photographs. I actually try to photograph things that I see in my dreams sometimes."
Parallel Planets: What influences your work? Who inspires you?
Penny Felts: "A daydream, a night dream, what’s going on in my life at that moment, a book I’m reading, a song..."
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| photo by Penny Felts |
Penny Felts: "There are so many photographers, famous and not so famous, who inspire me every day. But last June I was in a Portland bookstore with a friend. He picked up a book by Deborah Turbeville, and we paged through it together. By the time we finished it, I was in tears. I felt like she was who I wanted to be when I grew up. I was so sad when she recently passed away."
Parallel Planets: You are involved in this project called 12.12 Project. How did that start and come together?
Penny Felts: "A few months ago, I was feeling restless. I felt that my photography was getting stale. I wanted something to change that, to inspire me. So, I decided to reach out to a few women who I followed on a few photo websites, and invite them into this project. I had the core idea, but then the rest of the plan came together as all of these powerfully creative women started talking. So, we ended up with 12 of us, from all parts of the world. We each had to come up with one theme, something that was challenging. We all shoot our interpretation of that theme each month. At the end of the year, we will have 144 photos that will be shown in different venues."
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| photo by Penny Felts |
Penny Felts: "I contacted The Impossible Project, and they kindly agreed to help support us. And then randomly, I was contacted by Jean-Philippe PERNOT (a wonderful man who’s work I follow on polanoid.net), who wanted to contribute to our group as well. We are eternally grateful for both of them."
Parallel Planets: How is it going? Tell us about the project’s progress.
Penny Felts: "I really just can’t believe how well its going. It is doing what I originally hoped it would do, which was helping me get more creative with my own photography, but it has gone much further. I have had so many young photographers tell me what an inspiration it has been to them. And, the women that were invited and agreed to be in the group just amaze me over and over again. We plan on having international shows, and there will be a book."
Parallel Planets: Do you have any other creative pursuit/s? Tell us about it.
Penny Felts: "I am determined to learn how to write good poetry. What I have recently learned about myself is that all of my life, the people whom I love the most are poets. I am just attracted to it. So, in order to make myself more happy, I need to find my own poetry."
Parallel Planets: What is your mantra in life?
Penny Felts: "Be Kind. Never postpone joy."
Parallel Planets: Mention three of your favorite things.
Penny Felts: "Bizarre vintage finds, really nice underwear, and wonderfully expired film."
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| photo by Penny Felts |
Parallel Planets: If you weren’t shooting instant films and polaroids, what would you be doing instead?
Penny Felts: "Wishing I were shooting instant films and polaroids, mostly. I suppose I’d have to learn how to paint."
Parallel Planets: What other project(s) are you currently working on?
Penny Felts: "I’ve had one on the back burner for a while now. I want to do portraits of elderly people, with their favorite life story attached. I feel that we don’t honor older people as much as we should. They all have stories that need to be told."
Parallel Planets: In this planet that we're thriving in—
What is your power animal?
"It would have to be some sort of feline. I love their grace, playfulness and mystery."
Who is your alternate ego?
"Winnie the Pooh. Because we think the same way."
Parallel Planets: In an alternate universe where Penny Felts does not exist—
What will your name be?
"Kudra, because she’s my favorite literary character. (Jitterbug Perfume, by Tom Robbins)"
What do you think you would be doing instead? Why?
"Flying."
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| photo by Penny Felts |
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