“A photographer is a light chaser, we chase light,” says Elizabeth George, one of the selected artists for this year’s Photofest 2021 exhibition. “I chase beauty, not just light. I am hoping to bring light into people’s lives. Light meaning awareness.”

The Photofest 2021 exhibition at the Artport Gallery features fine art photographs by 33 local artists. This is one of many rotating exhibitions curated by the Council on Culture & Arts on behalf of the City of Tallahassee as part of the Art in Public Places program. In addition to the physical exhibition, all 100 individual artworks submitted to the show can be viewed in COCA’s Online Gallery. 

This will be George’s fifth Photofest since 2014. Her image, “Exclamation Point,” in the Artport Gallery is an encapsulation of her photographic style and philosophy. George enjoys zooming in on the small joys of life and amplifying them. Her photograph captures the moment a droplet of water glided off a palm frond. George says she took a rapid fire burst of photos to capture the shot. 

“I have some photos where there is water definitely dripping off the palms, but this one caught it right at the moment when it’s a solid drop and it looks like an exclamation point,” says George. “It’s kind of like capturing the moment of conception. The moment of a birth, the moment that happens that will never ever happen again. It’s such a rare, beautiful moment and it’s fleeting.” 

Friends and family referred to George as a photographer long before she considered herself one. Her parents are Hungarian, making George a first generation American. When she was 9 years old, her family went to visit relatives in Hungary. George begged her mother to take photos at the zoo during the trip. 

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