Special
Features / October 2007
Nature Photography
 Sheila Caim
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From mathematician to nature photographer, Sheila Caim, has made a glorious transition. She sees beauty in places most people would never think to look. “I taught mathematics at West Virginia University at Parkersburg. I have always had an interest in computers. When I bought my first camera, it opened a whole world within myself.” With her camera, she sees things or gets feelings from little things. She says that the feeling is “just there”.
Although from the big city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Sheila said that she had always dreamed of living near nature. She and her husband had done extensive traveling. When she visited West Virginia, she knew this was the right place for her. She and her husband moved here in 1975 and built their own home in the country. She loves living in the country and having the freedom to take the time to do what she wants. “I love going out in the woods and just being quiet. This is my element. I am at peace with the world and use my camera to capture the beautiful things in nature that I see.”
One of the incredibly beautiful pieces she creates are her “cityscapes”. “When people look at my cityscapes of downtown Parkersburg, they sometimes don’t even recognize the photos. People comment all the time that they have never seen the beauty of the city in the way it is apparent to them through these images.” Sheila hopes that people see the beauty in places they have never looked. During lunch while in Parkersburg, she would walk in alleys and backstreets. With her camera in hand, her eye was ever so observant to the little things that most of us would never look at and that the average person would never really see the beauty that surrounds them.
“I am a very optimist person. I believe there is good in the world. I believe most people are good. Society keeps us locked in holding patterns. Yes, I’m aware of the tragedies in the world. I care about the world, animals, and nature. The world is connected and my art emphasis that connection”. Women photographers are in the minority. Taking up photography is good for women in that it is good to encourage women who have a lot of talent and don’t feel comfortable expressing it. Photography allows women to overcome boundaries placed on them from the outside world. It is a way to let that ‘specialness’ within them have a voice”.
She combined her love for math and computers into photography. I guess I haven’t really noticed any difficulties as being a female artist, but then I was in math and computers, which were traditionally men’s fields. I have felt very blessed all my life”.
She will be displaying her artistic talents at The Taste of Parkersburg and Pioneer Days in Elizabeth, WV. Her art is on display at the Marietta Creative Hands. She also has displays at Tamarack. She is a regular at the Blennershassett Gallery and the Wheeling Artisan Center. She also shows on a regular basis in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan.
To see Sheila’s photographs, please visit her website at sheilacaim.com where she a several sections of her artworks including Dreamscapes (photos made into digital paintings that portrays fantasy), Nature (floral and trees), Memories (reminders of the past), Coal Mines, Wonderful West Virginia, Black/White, and Cityscapes.
Sheila’s inspiring words to women, “Follow your heart and your dreams. Aim for the stars. And, above all, believe in yourself”.
Copyright © 2007 A Woman's View. All rights reserved.
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