Rod Broussard is a true son of la vie Acadienne. Born in the small Cajun town of Galiano, Louisiana, he was raised in the lifestyle of a unique, patois French culture that has survived for over 250 years. He spent much of his youth in the natural solitude of the region's bayous and cypress swamps. Through this close earth contact he developed a keen sensitivity and an acute visual awareness of
the most intimate details of his environment. Rod's soft introversion and surreal aesthetic led him to work with black and white, infrared images in which he skillfully manipulated the interplay of light and shadow. His statement is atmospheric and dreamlike settled in tender drama; it is, indeed, in union with his special heritage. Louisiana landscapes became dreamy and surrealistic when captured by the sensitive eye and camera of Rod Broussard. His photographs challenge the viewer to look beyond basic images and discover and contemplate an unseen beauty. To coax forth that hidden beauty, Rod uses black and white infrared film. He turned to infrared film about 30 years ago after color and conventional black and white film failed to satisfy his creative goals. "I found that color distracted too much attention from the images themselves and from feelings that I was trying to convey," he recalls. "Then I went to black and white and edged closer to where I wanted to be, but it wasn't until I began experimenting with infrared film that I felt I was letting my unspoken feelings come through in my photographs." Solitude is a recurring theme in Rod's work, and nowhere is it more prevalent that in his photographs of Louisiana cemeteries and in various shades of black and white, of light and darkness that characterize infrared images, parallels of life and death.. and of their graceful co-existence. As Rod strives to share something of himself in the photographic images he creates, he remains in touch with his roots, and in the Louisiana land that inspires his passion. Rod Broussard Fine Art Photographer
www.rodbroussard.com
