Dawn Sowanick

I was raised in Fawn Township and graduated from Highlands in 1989.  My grandparents and parents all grew up in New Ken and my husband and I lived there for six years before moving to Creighton this year.  I work full-time as a legal assistant in a law firm in downtown Pittsburgh and have two beautiful daughters who are living on their own in the area.

As a photographer, I never thought of myself as an “artist.”  People kept telling me that I was talented and that I really had an eye for things, but I was just taking photos of what I found interesting.  However, the more I’ve grown in my photography, the more I can visualize myself that way.

I’ve always enjoyed taking photos, even as a teen with my little 110 camera I would carry around with the cube flash on the top.  I upgraded years later to a point-and-shoot camera that did automatic zooming, and I thought that was the neatest thing ever.  A few years later my husband gifted me with my first DSLR camera and I was in heaven, but also very overwhelmed.  Years later I’m still discovering new things and that’s one thing I absolutely love about photography – so many different genres and it’s a constant learning experience.

With my DSLR I practiced a lot on my girls and then I started venturing into wildlife photos and especially birds.  I then began dabbling in portraits and progressed to fancier stuff such as splash photography, light painting, long exposures and digital manipulation. 

I’ve been enjoying the amazing architecture around New Kensington, Tarentum and Pittsburgh.  I love the bridges and old buildings and the stories they tell!  It’s amazing what you see when you truly open your eyes to the world around you.  Having a camera lets me appreciate the simpler things in life.  Being out on the streets or in nature just centers me and makes what would have been an ordinary day extraordinary.

Now, as a way to share what I see, I am producing calendars using photographs that I have taken in the New Kensington Area.  I am thrilled that not only are the local folks enjoying them for themselves, but many of them are being sent to friends that have moved away from the area.  It’s also been a wonderful way to meet so many great people and I’m happy to provide them with not just a calendar but a keepsake they can hold on to for many years to come.