Point and Shoot Poetry

About the Book

Cara's poetry and photography pairings are like no other. As an artist, Cara captures her audience with her every woman ways. Her works evoke the reader’s full spectrum of emotions – from sadness to laughter, fear to faith, hate to love... every human feeling possible. Her poetry is as inspiring and thought-provoking as it is whimsical and fun; her photographs as original and earthy as they are stunning and spiritual. Cara - a romanticist while at the same time a modernist - appeals to our five senses as well as to our minds and spirits. From verse that is free-formed or rhyming and from images that are vividly colorful or black and white, her words and pictures serve as metaphors and analogies for the experiences and realities of, and the hopes and the dreams in, all of us. Still, Cara’s poems and pictures are definitely and most uniquely her own. Her coupling of verse and imagery is deeply personal and is as much about nature as it is surreal; profound, yet simple. In her wonderful little book of poetry and photography, "Point & Shoot Poetry ~ Image & Verse (for better or worse)...", Cara has so creatively combined these two art forms as to complement one another so partakers of her work not only relate to both the meaningful and the light-hearted messages and nuances, but they also are inspired to plunge deeper into their own feelings and soar higher with their own imaginations as they feast on Cara’s rich “morsels” of work. Cara’s photos capture locales such as South Dakota (where Cara was born and raised), Colorado, Nebraska, Mexico, and California. The humans (who serve as Cara’s “models”) are friends or acquaintances or those whom Cara just happened to spot and “capture” on film by merely “pointing and shooting”. They are of varying ethnicities, creeds, colors, and locales. And, the animals that “pose” for Cara are her good “friends”, as well. These "everyday" animals, people, places, and things (such as bridges, airports, alleys, school houses, highways and byways…) were so inspirational to Cara as to lead her to “tell a/their story”.

About the Author

Cara loves photography and she loves poetry, but she doesn't claim to be a photographer or a poet. Having a few degrees in photography only to have people ask her "how hard can it be to point and shoot?" put an end to proclaiming anything; hence the title of the book. But as she approaches 50, she finds that she cares less and less about the opinions of others and more about sharing and connecting through these two therapeutic mediums. Plus she wants to do so before someone has the chance to say something so heart stopping rude that she dies before it's too late. : ) Her inspiration comes from the landscape she grew up in (south dakota) and from those around her who don't seem to have any problem expressing themselves out loud. Cara's expression comes in this paperback form - a bit more quiet. Her hope is that the words and/or images resonate with at least one person out there and will show that even girls from smalltown, usa are allowed to have a voice and creative spirit.