By Laura Hou
A love for art sparked the start of a life gilded by photography. Born in Victoria, BC, Cara Tench set her hands on a camera for the first time in grade seven. But it was not until 2014 that she fully understood the art of photography.
Photography is a puzzle to Ms. Tench, a really fun puzzle to figure out. Her teacher, Rose Eichenbaum taught her that to become a great photographer, you must first be a great audience. Ms. Tench learned from her to listen, not only for the voice of the world but also for the voice of art. It is only until then that you can comprehend it. Ms. Tench has taken photography classes on and off, New York being her favorite place to learn as it is filled with art and music. Taking photos of dancers has become more than a hobby for Ms. Tench. It is her way of escaping the reality and losing herself in the moment of a kick or a jump. “Look for shapes and moments of breath [in dance], there is the obvious moment of jumps and also intimate moments that link the moves into one” she explains. Ms. Tench is always fascinated by hands and the energy behind fingers. She is constantly looking for the moment of humanity which helps to explain dance, humanize dance and bring it to life. She hopes that non-dancers can find a connection with that through her photos. Ms. Tench believes that photography forced her to listen and observe, rather than stand still and watch as the days go by. Photography showed her the meaning of one’s life. Photography for Ms. Tench is a way of capturing the moment of art as it freezes the emotion and the feeling behind the simple moves. She says: “like dance, photography would encourage people to see something in the movements of dance. It would get people to see behind the architecture of dance and somehow feel dance rather than see it.” The relationship between two dancers, a flip of the finger, they’re all art to Ms. Tench. Art is someone’s perspective of the world, someone’s choice of showing it is their own outlook of it and how they see it. It is an extension and how you view the world as it is.
A love for art sparked the start of a life gilded by photography. Born in Victoria, BC, Cara Tench set her hands on a camera for the first time in grade seven. But it was not until 2014 that she fully understood the art of photography.
Photography is a puzzle to Ms. Tench, a really fun puzzle to figure out. Her teacher, Rose Eichenbaum taught her that to become a great photographer, you must first be a great audience. Ms. Tench learned from her to listen, not only for the voice of the world but also for the voice of art. It is only until then that you can comprehend it. Ms. Tench has taken photography classes on and off, New York being her favorite place to learn as it is filled with art and music. Taking photos of dancers has become more than a hobby for Ms. Tench. It is her way of escaping the reality and losing herself in the moment of a kick or a jump. “Look for shapes and moments of breath [in dance], there is the obvious moment of jumps and also intimate moments that link the moves into one” she explains. Ms. Tench is always fascinated by hands and the energy behind fingers. She is constantly looking for the moment of humanity which helps to explain dance, humanize dance and bring it to life. She hopes that non-dancers can find a connection with that through her photos. Ms. Tench believes that photography forced her to listen and observe, rather than stand still and watch as the days go by. Photography showed her the meaning of one’s life. Photography for Ms. Tench is a way of capturing the moment of art as it freezes the emotion and the feeling behind the simple moves. She says: “like dance, photography would encourage people to see something in the movements of dance. It would get people to see behind the architecture of dance and somehow feel dance rather than see it.” The relationship between two dancers, a flip of the finger, they’re all art to Ms. Tench. Art is someone’s perspective of the world, someone’s choice of showing it is their own outlook of it and how they see it. It is an extension and how you view the world as it is.
Besides photography, Ms. Tench spends her free time going for walks in nature, doing theatre production and comedic production. Photography is not the only art in her life. Ms. Tench started dance when she was very young. Contemporary and modern being her favorite forms of dance as they are the most expressive. When she dances, she becomes one with the music, she gets lost in the moment of a jump and she relishes in the feeling of knowing a choreography so well to have fun with the dance and not be compelled to try to remember the dance. Her other senses just take over. Dance is way for Ms. Tench to feel every cell in her body, to be aware of the space around her as she moves through it. “It is an escape of what is happening in the world and lose myself in the choreography, [it is] to be aware of what your body is doing and react to it” she says. Ms. Tench stopped dancing ten years ago, but when her friend showed her how much as an artist she can be when she started photography, she realized that dance is not the only expressive art. She found another way for her to connect with art through the photos she takes.
When asked about her thoughts of what the future holds, Ms. Tench says that with better technology, more and more people are getting into photography, phones and iPads are capable of taking much better photos now. Maybe it’s a good thing because after all, the world is an art form and photography expresses it.
When asked about her thoughts of what the future holds, Ms. Tench says that with better technology, more and more people are getting into photography, phones and iPads are capable of taking much better photos now. Maybe it’s a good thing because after all, the world is an art form and photography expresses it.