Crossing the line between science and art, since 2011. Tanya Mikulas, PhD, photographer
I bought a cell phone with a camera in January 2011, and have spent many hours looking for interesting colors, shapes, textures, and light.
After my neighborhood was disintegrated by the April 27, 2011 Tuscaloosa tornado, I took a lot of photos of daily life in the zone of destruction and recovery.
I like flowers. I spent some time at the University of Alabama arboretum, which was spared by the tornado, as a retreat from the devastation.
I get a lot of enjoyment from being steady enough to take photos in low light conditions without a flash,
and I especially like finding new ways to trick my phone into taking a photo of what I see.
Sometimes I get frustrated when the light is good but the wind is breezy. Photography has been a really great lesson in patience and picking the right moment. Sometimes I wish I had a really nice camera, but I worry that I would drop it while taking some stupid or dangerous risk to get a better angle of some light.
I finished my PhD in 2015 while still living in Forest Lake neighborhood. I rescued a lot of tornado cats and kittens, and continue to pursue the unification of art with science. Here’s a link to my dissertation. And this is a link to my scientific publications.
My photos and handiwork have been published or displayed on several occasions:
City of Tuscaloosa tornado memorial service, flyers and posterboards
The University of Alabama Capstone Educator 2011, page 6 and back cover
Tuscaloosa News article about the tornado chair
Kentuck Art Center, Northport AL – Full Moon Emerging Artist Exhibit “transform” August 2012
Galleries:
The University of Alabama Arboretum Spring 2012 Archive
2012 Full Moon Emerging Artist Tornado Photo Gallery
April 28, 2011 – my unedited photo archive from the day after the epic Tuscaloosa tornado
scale photography – my original domain, which I let expire because I was trying to focus on grad school, so now it’s just a wordpress blog
oxidation, my personal favorite
Dr. T Phonetography 