Meet Erin Dvorak

Today we’d like to introduce you to Erin Dvorak.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Erin. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
When I was about 14, I picked up my dad’s digital camera and never looked at the world the same. I spent endless hours roaming around my parent’s acreage taking photos of the land I had grown up on and thought I knew well. I have since learned that a camera is a tool for me to express myself creatively while also deepening my appreciation for the outdoors. My formal education was through the Photo Media BFA program at the University of Kansas. During my time in undergrad, I learned how to shoot with a large format film camera. I enjoy the film process because it requires you to slow down and be intentional with the images you create. My process involves going out into nature and photographing landscape images. At the moment, I am working on a series that has to do with the South Platte River.

The products of this project will be but are not limited to, realistic large color photographic prints that show the interconnectedness of the South Platte River and its appropriators. This is a new project, and I want to involve experts in various fields who can tell the complex story of a river that has been a source of livelihood for thousands of years. A piece of the series will be focused on my own area of expertise and how I am connected to the South Platte. I will visually represent my own knowledge of the South Platte through photographing the river from its alpine headwaters to downtown Denver through a 168-mile bikepacking trip. As an experienced bikepacker, I have lived off of my bicycle for weeks at a time. The parallels I find between cycling and film photography are intricacy, delicacy, and expecting the unexpected. Bikepacking allows me to become the most connected to nature, which is the main focus of my photography.

Has it been a smooth road?
I experience both physical and mental challenges during the art-making process. A challenge I encounter is being able to let go of the feeling of control over my photographs. The film process has many steps to it, all of which can go wrong at any moment and alter or even ruin the photo you are trying to make. I am a perfectionist and think through each image that I make for days, weeks, sometimes months before I actually make the image. At times knowing that your images will not appear in the film despite all that time, effort, and money you invest in your work is at times overwhelming to me.

During the film development process, there is a moment before you open your film canister to see your fully developed negatives, and it is in that moment that I have learned to overcome the anxiety of what my images will look like by counting each blessing I gained during the photographing process for those images. It is still a learning process. And then at times my challenges in making photographs feel more physical than mental. Much of my work documents the land, and I like to find ways to do that on my bicycle. I tend to set super big goals for myself like – bike across Iowa with my 4×5 camera packed on my bike. 70 pounds, and 600+ miles later, I feel the physical burn out of my endeavor and it becomes difficult to make a picture. When you travel on your bike, everything is packed in a particular way, and your camera isn’t always easily accessible.

I have found that the most draining moments can be when I see a landscape that I want to photograph, and just thinking through all the effort it takes to unpack my bike, set up my camera, focus, take the shot, and re-pack my bike all after eight hours of riding can really damper my creativity in the moment. It is too easy to say “No, just keep moving” in those moments. I hope as I become a more experienced outdoors-woman with my large format camera in tow, I am able to overcome those mental and physical challenges.

We’d love to hear more about your work.
My specialty is documenting the land with a curious eye. I am not trying to create a specific narrative in my photographs, but I am definitely curious about how the land is controlled by its appropriators. What sets my current project, South Platte Studies, apart from other projects I have made is that I am creating this work at a time where water conservation is the most important environmental move Coloradans can make in how we set future generations up for success.

My work itself is unique because of my process. Using a bicycle to access areas of the land that is not usually seen via foot or by a car gives the viewers of my images a more complete understanding of where their water comes from and how it has came to be. I am most proud of my ability to use photography to spark a curiosity that can impact a person and how they view the environment around them.

Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
Being an outdoorswoman, I really love having access to high-quality trails during most seasons of the year but I think that answer is super obvious so I’ll share another thing that I adore about Denver. My favorite thing about Denver has got to be the students that I work with. I am an art teacher in the far northeast of the city and am constantly impressed by the families and students of my school. Kids these days are highly intelligent, artistic, bold, and keep me motivated to continue my passions in art and photography.

I think one thing that I like least about our city is that it does not accommodate high volumes of public transportation to close by trails or mountain areas. I have been intrigued by a CPR segment I heard about how most people do not take public transportation (RTD trains or buses) because a lot of people want to get in their cars and head to the mountains for a quick hike or bike ride after work. I am with them on that! However, re-thinking public transportation with this understanding could be an interesting way to tackle our traffic and transportation issues.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.erindvorak.com
• Phone: 712-260-3244
• Email: erindvor@gmail.com
• Instagram: @erindvorak

Image Credit:
Photography by Jessica Little

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