Living a few miles off the Natchez Trace Parkway in Mt. Pleasant, TN is Mike Serkownek, businessman turned photographer. Having traveled to many parts of the country to capture beautiful landscapes through his camera, he claims, “The best places you do your best work seem to be close to home.” With the convenience of neighboring the Trace, he will often go back and find a different look to each setting depending on the time of year. Serkownek is intrigued by his discoveries and the mystery of whether he’ll find something he’s been looking for or fall upon that moment, “When it just happens to become a great picture,” the photographer says.
A lover of nature and supporter of environmental preservation, Serkownek’s photos have appeared numerous times on the cover of Tennessee Conservationist Magazine. His keen eye for composition and play on light can turn simple elements like water, the sun, moon and leaves into a compelling work of beauty. Patience and observation allows him to find those moments that, captured on one particular day, will inevitably change with the season or simply by a rainy day. A mere ripple in the water changes with the wind. A winter fog reveals a river that will glow with the spring blossoms. His work is a reminder of how nature in itself gives a photographer plenty of choices for fine details. Favorite spots for Mike to work include Fall Hollow, Water Valley and Metal Ford.
Emerging from Serkownek’s work is a heightened awareness of his surroundings. His daughter, Rachel, points out by saying, “You see things I don’t see.” A talent also appreciated by wife Sandra and youngest daughter, Sara.
Serkownek strives for a “picture with a story in it; one that moves you somehow. “ He will attest, “There are two pictures in one: the photographer’s and the viewer’s.”
Mike is a mostly self-taught photographer who has been featured in numerous publications, galleries and festivals. He teaches classes and workshops in his home and on site in digital photography basics, composition, exposure and printing. To experience nature, wildlife and rural life at it’s best among light, visit Mike Serkownek at www.traceoflight.com.
December 2009
Journal of 100 Miles 