They say it’s never too late to pursue your passion. Two Charlottesville-area photographers are proving that maxim. They got hooked through a hobby that became a career.
Oana Moore grew up in Romania where she met her husband – a peace corps volunteer. As sometimes happens, their romance led to marriage, children and an obsession with photography.
“I wanted to take better pictures of my children," she recalls, "so I bought a semi-professional camera and I got into photography full-on – classes, seminars, mentors.”
One of those mentors was Ben Greenberg, a photographer of wildlife and landscapes in Virginia. He got the bug when he was in his 60’s. Today, he’s working on his second book, and like Moore, has exhibited around Central Virginia.
The two agree – it’s nice to be able to photograph what they love.
“I do not want photography for me to become a full-time job and commercial because I think it takes the creativity and the passion out of it,” she says.
A retired professional skater, she has photographed that sport but also loves taking pictures of dogs and horses – which led her to adopt Tessa.
“You know, she was malnourished, and she was in bad shape, and I rescued her three years ago, and now she’s just a gorgeous, gorgeous thoroughbred."
And she likes to take pictures of her hometown – Crozet.
“I was born in a small mountain town in Transylvania," Moore explains. " I lived in many cities in Europe, but my heart is always in a small town.”
She and Greenberg will show their work at our Water Street studio Friday night, November 2nd, from 5-7 in Charlottesville.
