Sandra Rothenberg
Sandra Rothenberg, PhD (Warren, PA) is a former psychotherapist who currently devotes her time to nature photography. Just as psychology reveals the hidden aspects of the psyche and the unconscious, Sandra believes photography reveals the details of nature that might otherwise be missed. She particularly enjoys bat, bird, and macro photography. Sandra feels the closer you look, the more you see. The observer merges with the lens of the camera to become a witness to unexpected drama, stunning beauty, design, color, and form, all in relationship to the ever-changing light. As a psychotherapist, Sandra has had a long-standing interest in dreams and enjoys creating dream-like images. She is known for both her realistic and ethereal images.
Sandra appreciates the feelings evoked by the process of photography. The intimacy, the unadulterated joy, and the flutter of anticipation surface as she discovers new images with her camera to capture the moment.
“In nature, I am acutely aware of the passage of time. All creatures and all floras are ephemeral. Each instant is precious. A photograph captures one infinitesimal facet of a moment. When you look carefully, details appear. The richness of the moment unfolds. First you see only the gestalt, the integrity and wholeness of a scene. Then you see more and more: the meadowlark’s eyelashes and pale blue–grey eyes, the red-shouldered hawk’s intense gaze, the complementary colors of the hummingbird’s beak and vivid feathers, the repeating fractal patterns of the tail feathers, the articulation and complexity of the design of the chickadee’s feathers, the lesser long nosed bat’s pink tongue, the curve of the pallid bat’s nose, or the bat’s delicate bones.
In nature you can’t procrastinate. If you wait even a minute everything has changed. You begin to feel the pulse of life. You become a witness to the fragility and excitement of the moment, the current of change external to you as your consciousness streams inside. Your breath deepens. Sometimes there is an instant of blurred boundaries, a deep sense of connection. Instead of waiting by the pond or in the field, there is simply energy streaming. It is as if my ego is gone, I disappear. For that moment time stops.”
Sandra Rothenberg has participated and won first prize in a juried Show at Image City Gallery in Rochester, NY. She has had private shows at the Crary Art Gallery in Warren, PA, Roger Tory Peterson, Jamestown, NY, and Audubon Nature Center, Jamestown, NY. Additionally, her work has been shown in numerous group shows throughout the region. Her photographs have been honored by NANPA and many other organizations. Recently, a female oriole building a nest was chosen by Audubon for two pages in their 2022 Annual Report and another Oriole was chosen for the cover of the National Wildlife magazine 2020.