There are many pivotal moments in the life of any photographer, but there are two that I believe are especially important.

There is that initial seduction when you create something that's sparked by how you see the world.

When you see that vision translated into a finished photograph, especially a print,

you feel something that is both powerful and self-affirming. It's that feeling that keeps you

coming back. And when you do it long enough, you want to be known for more than just being a competent and talented technician.

The camera has given you a voice that you might not have had otherwise.

You want to say something.

You want others to share the beauty that you've

observed or reveal a truth that would otherwise be relegated to the shadows. Karen Silas does both

in her extensive body of work. Whether she's exploring the lasting wounds of the Holocaust or the beauty

of Lusitanaes, she understands that believing

you have something to say comes with its own set of challenges that have nothing to do with the

camera.

I think that most artists have a very healthy level of self-doubt.

And when I say self-doubt, we could insert the word fear as well. We have to figure out ways that we can overcome that to drive us forward, to have us find a way to be able to share what we're seeing, what we're responding to with the rest of the world.

I imagine there's a bit of ego in that

as well, if we think that we have a point of view, but that's been one of the hardest things

to overcome. I'd like to think that I'm a fairly modest person, but when I see something that

has moved me, or if I can contribute in any way to a positive conversation

or discussion about, for example, the work I'm doing for loss in beauty, then it's true.

There's nothing that's going to stop me from doing that.

We'll talk to Karen about her first career in the publishing industry and how it prepared

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