Dara Kretschmer is a fine art photographer. A native of Los Angeles, she now lives in Sydney and has worked as a photographer in both the USA and Australia. Her fine art works have featured in several photography exhibitions and are held in a number private collections.

"The path to my career in photographic art began, like many, when I picked up one of my parents’ cameras and began to shoot. We were fortunate to have a number of cameras around the house, as my grandfather was a photographer and owned a camera store in Omaha, Nebraska. My parents encouraged me in many ways – one of which was never questioning the amount of film I was having developed (and charging to their account) at the local camera store.

In high school, I took my first photography class, learning how to develop both film and prints, in black and white and colour. I did every photography class available and worked on the yearbook. Since then, I have lived and worked in Los Angeles, New York, Melbourne and Sydney. There was a brief intermission in my photographic career as I veered into law school at Duke University. Later, living and working in New York, I studied at the International Centre of Photography, defining and refining my aesthetic. Thereafter, there were the inevitable twists and turns that comprise an artistic career; the need to balance family, friends and community with generating an income and the desire to produce art. In order to further develop my artistic practice, I have completed a Masters in Studio Art, and am presently a candidate for a Master of Fine Art at Sydney College of the Arts, Sydney University."