For me, photographs are all about the past. Even when I photograph to make a statement about the present, or to comment on the future, the image itself— the one I’ve just made simply by opening and closing a shutter— is cemented in the past. When I look at photographs, no matter whose photographs they are, or when they were made, they inevitably conjure all sorts of memories. Looking at old photographs of my family, or even of myself, I am staring at tangible memories, often barely recognizing those people in the pictures looking back at me. And late at night, when I replay events that occurred earlier in my day, those events or conversations appear in my mind as a series of visual narratives, not all that clear or well-defined, and very much like half-remembered dreams. To help me create images that echo those visual vignettes, I often use pinhole or toy cameras. Unusual perspectives, long exposures, and a sense of movement and fluidity are inherent with these particular cameras. Consequently, I am better able to achieve those visual narratives of fugitive dreams and elusive memories. I also choose to print in 19th century hand-applied printing processes, which offer me creative freedom and infinite possibilities. They mesh well with my images, which are always interpretive. The repeated layerings of the gum bichromate process, in particular, remove all the hard and clearly defined edges, resulting in a softness and ambiguity— much the way we see and remember.
An exhibiting photographer for nearly 40 years, Diana has received numerous awards for her images, including a 1985 New Jersey State Visual Arts Fellowship, and five Regional Artist Grants and a 2019/20 Professional Development Grant, from the United Arts Council of Raleigh and Wake County, North Carolina. Most recently, she was also awarded a fully funded 2023 Artist Support Grant from the United Arts Council of Raleigh and Wake County. She was named a Photolucida Critical Mass Finalist in 2014, 2018, 2019, and 2022. In August of 2021, Diana was honored with Rfotofolio's 2021 Denis Roussel Award, juried by Christopher James. Specializing in 19th century printing techniques, Diana's work has been included in a number of books, including Pinhole Photography: Rediscovering a Historic Technique (2004), by Eric Renner; in Robert Hirsch's Exploring Color Photography Fifth & Sixth Editions: From Film to Pixels (2011; 2015); in Jill Enfield's Guide to Photographic Alternative Processes : Popular Historical and Contemporary Techniques (1st & 2nd Editions); in Christopher James' The Book of Alternative Photographic Processes (2015); in #NoFilter, by Natalia Price-Cabrera, (2019); in Jean-Charles Trebbi's l'art du livre origami, published in 2021; and, most recently, in Morgan Post's Alternative Process Photography for the Contemporary Photographer (2022). She is a featured artist in Christina Z. Anderson's Gum Printing: A Step-by-Step Manual, Highlighting Artists and their Creative Practice (2017); in Clay Harmon's Polymer Photogravure: A Step-by-Step Manual, Highlighting Artists & their Creative Practice (2019); and in Cyanotype Toning: Using Botanicals to Tone Blueprints Naturally (September 2021), by Annette Golaz. In addition to having her work included in The Sun Magazine (including a front cover image), and the North Carolina Literary Review, Diana's art has been featured in the Pinhole Journal; The World Journal of Post-Factory Photography; Shadow & Light (including front cover image); Analog Forever Magazine; Dodho Photography Magazine; Silvershotz (including front cover image); in the print journal, SilvergrainClassics (2021); and, most recently, in B+W Photography Magazine (UK) Issue 260- including the front cover image. As an independent curator, Diana has organized and curated several pinhole and alternative process exhibitions, including "Pure Light: Southern Pinhole Photography," shown at the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art (SECCA), in Winston-Salem, NC in 2004. And the exhibit,"Old is New Again: Alternative Processes," which was originally shown at the Green Hill Center for NC Art, in Greensboro, NC, was invited for exhibition at the 2004 Pingyao International Photography Festival, in Pingyao, China. She was also an invited artist to the first Qinghai International Photography Festival, in Xining, China, where she exhibited in the summer of 2006. More recently, Diana has shown her work in Nanjing, China, and at the Lishui Photography Festival, via the HLiiC Gallery, located in Nanjing. Her art is in a number of public and private collections, including the Norton Museum of Art, located in West Palm Beach, Florida; The Fine Art Program and Collection at Montefiore Einstein, in Bronx, New York; New Mexico History Museum/ Palace of the Governors, located in Santa Fe, New Mexico; and North Carolina State University’s Gregg Museum of Art & Design, in Raleigh, North Carolina. A native North Carolinian, Diana lives and works in Raleigh, North Carolina, where she received her MA in English Literature and Creative Writing from North Carolina State University. She teaches photography workshops throughout the country, and in her beautiful backyard studio. "Her images range in subject matter from landscapes to portraits to elegantly seen fragments of the natural and built worlds . . . Bloomfield unites her compositional and printing skills to produce finely-wrought meditative images that invite our repeated contemplation . . . " -John Wall, The Southern Photographer