World Moments- Scott Moats

     I have been taking photos for over thirty-five years — starting with film and a small make-shift dark room and progressing to the modern camera and the digital dark room.  Photography offers me a creative outlet with an endless variety of challenges and opportunities for artistic growth.  Most recently, I have focused my efforts on travel photography.

     Over the past twenty years I have traveled from the edge of the Arctic Circle to the tip of the Antarctic peninsula.  I have travelled both east and west on journeys which have encircled our small planet. This exhibit represents memories from my journeys.

     Just as the written word allows the writer to enter the mind of the reader, the photos of the photographer are able to enter the mind of the viewer. Through my photos I hope to share the heart of my experiences.  I want the viewer to see more than just pretty pictures. I use viewpoint and perspective to allow the viewer to feel, for a moment, as though they are in a different place and actually witnessing for themselves the scene in front of them.  Although I do not alter the subject matter of my photos, I do employ the use of color and textural overlays in order to visually express the emotional reaction I had when taking the photos. I hope to touch the heart and mind of the viewer and create within them a curiosity and wonder for the world in which they live.  I hope to create a desire to see and experience the world.  I hope to create travelers out of my viewers.

It is impossible to witness the natural wonders and human cultures of our planet and remain unchanged.  Each place you visit, each person you meet, each meal you eat…they all cause subtle changes to the essence of the person who experiences them.  Travel is an active and transformative process.  A process which I believe has the potential to expand boundaries, increase understanding, create compassion, and even change the world.  Are you curious?  I hope so!

“The world is a book and he who doesn’t travel only reads one page.”  - St. Augustine

All proceeds from this exhibition will go toward programming at the Peoria Art Guild.