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Amy
Koontz Knippel
My
purpose is to show the beauty of being on the planet.
“I love getting into that creative mode where the mind
turns off, the spirit comes out, and the photos just
“happen”. I have always loved creating. I studied painting, airbrushing, architecture, pottery, drawing, and photography from kindergarten into high school, taking many after school art lessons. After high school, I was a general arts major at Southern Methodist University in Dallas Texas for two years before attending the School of Visual Arts in New York City. I majored in a four year program as a photography major.
During my schooling at SVA, I took up to eight classes a
semester from many
well known New York City professional photographers before
receiving my Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree with an award.
To support the large expense of paper and film during art
school, I worked as a
freelance assistant for every type of professional New York City
photographer
possible, gaining many aspects of the business of photography
from different points of view.
I became knowledgeable in shooting through the means of
still life, commercial, fashion, celebrity portraiture,
location, and studio environments.
In total, from high school on, I learned the craft from
more than fifty professionals, all who had something different
to add to my knowledge.
By
my junior year at SVA in 1993, I had my first rise in
confidence when I was invited to have an art showing called “Portraits
of People in Their Bedrooms” in the SVA Gallery.
Over two hundred people attended the opening night , my
mom made southern biscuits and the show was written up in “New
York Newsday”. The
show was followed my senior year with a group show titled
“The Mentor Show” where each person was given an
assignment by an established New York City professional in the
art world, and each paired couple got to choose their favorite
image.
I
started taking professional jobs on my own the same year,
and had enough experience to start my own business.
I focused on fashion and portrait work, and when I moved
to Florida in 1995, I started fresh again, this time in an
unknown area. I
worked as a full time freelance photojournalist for the Port
St. Lucie / Stuart News, getting to really nail down my
photographic abilities with a wide range of assignments.
You always had to get an image, and some days it really
took some effort to find a picture.
I learned to shoot spot news, special events, sports,
feature stories,
business portraits, and most of all, documentary and photo
essays. Shooting
five plus rolls a day really gets your talent into shape. Word of mouth slowly and surely gained me enough reputation
to be self sufficient. I
photographed intimate portraits, photojournalistic weddings,
magazine and commercial work, and made time for my own personal
art. In 1999, “Natural
Photo Safaris” was first inspired and in 2000, Amy
Koontz Knippel Photography was incorporated. The one event that changed my perspective of my work, and lead me to feel confidant about my work was when I Received the Visual and Media Artist Fellowship for my series on “Cancer” by the South Florida Consortium followed by a group showing of the winners at the Museum of Art in Fort Lauderdale. I cried. It was my dream to show in a museum since the ninth grade, and here it was. Since then I have sold art to the state and to private corporations, was awarded the Millennium Cultural Recognition Award by the Secretary of State, Katherine Harris, had a show at the Cultural Courthouse in Stuart Florida, had a 26 piece show at The Capitol in the Governor’s Gallery, and created the 2004 Martin County Calendar.
I continue to show, create, fill commissions,
teach through artists
in residency programs, do personal assignments, and sell my
art. I am always evolving.
I
have dreams. You
have dreams. The purpose of “Natural Photo Safaris” is to show you
that you can create your dreams.
My purpose is
to show the beauty of being on the planet. Articles about Amy Koontz Knippel -The St. Pete Times - September 7, 2000 www.sptimes.com/News/090700/Weekend/Galleries_want_to_get.shtml
-Community Calendar Fall 2003 www.bbjonespr.com/cgi-bin/schedule/calendar.pl?view=Event&event_id=91
-Florida History In the Arts summer 2000 www.flheritage.com/magazine/summer00/arts.html
-Turtle
Tracks http://florida.sierraclub.org/loxahatchee/news6-7-02.html
-The Stuart News - April 22, 2004
Martin County: Crystal Lake Elementary School art teacher Maria Miele, left, follows the lead of photographer Amy Koontz Knippel, of Palm City, during a workshop at Halpatiokee Regional Park. Knippel instructed a group of eight elementary school art teachers through a blind-folded exercise to heighten their four other senses before photographing the landscape as their lesson. PHOTO BY DEBORAH SILVER
352.377.3547 |
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I am
currently working on a person series that brings me to the Blue
Ridge Mountains of Virginia in a small town along the Appalachian
Trail, called Pearisburg. I am creating a black and white
35mm documentary about my grandfather, James Alexander Witten,
who was born and raised in Giles County and has never lived
anywhere else. He is in his eighties and tends his garden,
goes to prayer breakfasts every Wednesday morning, and cares for
my grandmother. I intend on turning my images into a book
and showing, so look for that in the future. 
