Liza Hennessey Botkin

My photographic career began in the 70s when I was working for Michael Childers as his Studio Manager. One day Michael asked me if I wanted to buy a camera, a Leica CL. I did, for $80. I took a photography course at Fairfax High and was soon hanging out in the darkroom. I discovered then that I love to print.

Since the late 70s, I’ve roamed the streets, malls, markets and public gatherings of Los Angeles. I’m drawn to places where large groups of people tend to congregate. I take my camera with me every day, shooting “from the hip” because I don’t want people to be aware of me.

I never studied the art of making pictures in an academic setting, but if there is anyone who has influenced me or defined my work, it is Henri Cartier-Bresson. I, too, search for what he so aptly called “the decisive moment.”

Another photographer I worked for, Lou Stoumen, and I used to talk about what we referred to as “the nun.” Lou had a shot of Taos where there was a tiny dark figure off to one side, a nun. Without her it would have been a boring shot of Taos, with her it caught your attention. My photographic project consists of “decisive moments” and “nuns.” May they be plentiful.