I
got my first camera when I was 7 years old. It was an Eastman Kodak Autograph
No.1. It is the one in the picture. Yes, that’s me when I was seven. It was one
of those old style cameras with the bellows that would slide out on a track
(that was how you would have to focus it). What a great camera. Everything was
manual. No light meter. I had to learn to mentally judge lighting situations.
Eventually, I would learn the Zone System, developed by Ansel Adams. I wish I
still had that camera.
After more than 40 years behind a lens, and having studied the work and images and biographies of those considered by the critics (whoever they may be) to be the ‘giants’ of this wonderful art form, I have learned a little, and come to a conclusion about the art and science of photography: With all the advances in photographic technology made in the last 100 years, I believe that photography comes down to the following three simple, but critical elements – a good eye, a good lens, and good film (though nowadays, I suppose, a good digital sensor might substitute for good film).
The body of the camera, no matter how much a person paid for theirs, no matter how many ‘bells and whistles’ it may have, is nothing more than a box on which to mount a lens, and in which to have some kind of medium (film or digital sensor) on which to capture the image. It is just that simple.
Some truly remarkable, memorable, and historically significant photographs have been taken with all kinds of cameras – digital cameras, 35mm cameras, medium format, large format, box cameras, field cameras, disposable cameras, Polaroid cameras, even pinhole cameras have captured important moments in time and history. Because of the advent of more and more user friendly technology, photography is changing the way we record history, because it is changing the way we capture history. Today, just about anyone can own and operate cameras that will record high quality images, that even Alfred Steiglitz, Ansel Adams, or Georgia O’Keefe would be impressed with.
The word ‘photography’ comes from the Latin words photo, which means light, and graphe, which means to write. It literally means to ‘write with light.’ Every photograph tells a story, and just like a book or an entry in a diary, the story it tells, at the very least, means something to the author, whether or not it is appreciated or understood by others.
As advanced as photographic technology is
today, a camera, on its own, still can’t compose a picture, trigger the shutter
at just the right moment, or make a portrait subject smile. Only the
photographer can do that. The most expensive camera in the world will sit and
collect dust until the photographer picks it up and takes the photograph that
tells the story.
The photographs displayed on this web site are a very small sampling from hundreds, if not thousands of images from the last four decades. Enjoy browsing the galleries, and be sure to visit often as I will be trying to continually be changing the images. If anything in particular catches your eye, most of the images are available for purchase for personal or commercial use, in either color or black & white. Images on this site are copyrighted so kindly be respectful and inquire regarding purchase.
