Terry Wimmer

My photographs reflect a long career in image-making. During my 25 year career in the motion picture industry, I specialized in camera and lighting for an array of commercials, feature films, special venue projects and documentaries. As I traveled the world on various assignments, I always had my camera close at hand. Photography has taught me respect for people, places and things that I would not have otherwise learned. As the internet started to expand, I received a certificate in Website Production and Design from the University of California Santa Barbara. Soon I began working for UCSB as manager of the ucsb.edu website and also as a photographer generating content and documenting important awards and events. Now retired, I have spent my time and energy as a fine art photographer. Most of my work is “in studio”, lighting and arranging certain plants, flowers, leaves and other flora. As a practicing Buddhist, over time I began to observe how all things are constantly changing, and that there is a beauty in this impermanence. I became interested in the Japanese aesthetic of Wabi Sabi or “flawed beauty.” Wabi Sabi nurtures all that is authentic by acknowledging three simple realities; nothing lasts, nothing is finished, and nothing is perfect. It can be defined in several different ways, but for me, it simply means finding beauty in imperfection and impermanence. Another series is called ‘Mandalas’ where I take that aesthetic and create a spiritual symbol from those same plants and flowers. These images are large, high- resolution photos that create a beautiful graphic when seen from a distance but also show amazing detail the closer and closer you get. They are printed on unstretched canvas and hung from a rod with another rod running along the bottom.