About
After more than a decade working as a photojournalist shooting everything from fashion to football Patty DiRienzo took her passion for storytelling beyond the newsroom.
Her authentic style of photography along with a genuine interest in each person's story jumpstarted a successful lifestyle photography business.
As part of her creative explorations, Patty also became skilled at handcrafted techniques including the classic art of hand coloring b&w photographs as well as Polaroid image transfer. A sense of time and place is central to Patty's work and these techniques lend a vintage feel to present day images - blurring the line between past & present.
Patty put these skills to work after receiving a grant from the Florida Humanities Council. She authored Florida ~ A Journey Through its Colorful Past featuring Polaroid image transfers celebrating the folksy landmarks of Old Florida.
A fan of the great outdoors and historical landscapes, Patty was named Artist-in-Residence at Grand Canyon National Park followed by residencies at Petrified Forest National Park and the North Cascades Institute. These unique opportunities offered her the freedom to work on independent projects in places of historical significance and natural beauty while sharing her images with travelers from around the world.
Florida ~
A Journey through its Colorful Past
Think Florida and the mind conjures images of palm-fringed beaches and glittering skyscrapers, noisy theme parks and the silent vastness of the Everglades.
But the Sunshine State is much more than that and this slim but wonderfully engaging book brings the ‘other’ Florida to life. Patty DiRienzo’s text is thoughtful and informative – but it’s her moody, evocative photographs that give the book its magic.
Modest country churches, hand-painted roadside signs, a small-town barber shop, a spindly-legged fishing pier – they’re all here, in subtly-tinted images that look as if they might have fallen out of a cherished family album.
Far from being sentimental reminders of a long vanished world, these photos link us with the rich history and unique sense of place that are still very much alive behind the busy streets and glitzy facades of modern-day Florida.
Richard Moe
President, National Trust for Historic Preservation
Hardcover| 8x9 | 160 pages
Big Earth Publishing