My journey into photography began with a roll of medium format film and a plastic toy camera in hand. Introduced to the world of analog through friends who carried Holgas, Dianas, and Polaroids, I quickly fell in love with their imperfect charm. It wasn’t just the soft focus or light leaks, it was the way those plastic lenses turned ordinary moments into something otherworldly.
That early experience shaped the way I see today. I am constantly chasing that same dreamscape quality where light, mood, and emotion, blur into something a little less literal and a little more felt. Whether shooting film or digital, I am always looking for that poetic in-between space: surreal, nostalgic, and timeless.
Exhibition
2006 - Toy Joy, Foto Fest, Houston, Texas
2006 - Toy Polloy, Lexington, Kentucky
2006 - Holga Show, Photo Media Center
2007 - Holga Show 2.0, Photo Media Center
2007 - Krappy Kollage, Krappy Kamera Show, Soho, NY
2008 - Shootenanny Exhibit, Austin, Texas
2009 - Krappy Kamera Show, Finalist, Soho, NY
2009 - Rayko Photo Center, Plastic Camera Show, San Francisco, CA
2009 - Spring Arts Collective/Deborah Martin Gallery, Imagine Exhibition, Los Angeles, CA - With Juror Susan Burnstine
2009 - Photographic Works/ArtsEye, Curious Camera Contest, Honorable Mention, Tucson, AZ
2009 - Watson Studio Gallery & Texas Photographic Society - Fantasic Plastic Exhibition - Honorable Mention - Jurors Susan Burnstine and Carol Watson
2010 - Rayko Photo Center, 3rd Annual Juried Pinhole Show, Honorable Mention, San Francisco, CA
2010 - Photographic Works/ArtsEye, Curious Camera Contest, 1st Place, Tucson, AZ
2010 - PhotoPlace Open Gallery Exhibition with juror Keith Carter, Middlebury, Vermont
Publication
B&W Magazine #48, Special Image Contest, 2006 Metaphor/Abstract, Merit Award-Collaboration with David Wilcox
Light Leaks Magazine, Issue #1, #2, #7, #8, #9, #11, #12
The Shakey Photo Project By Ron Slattery & Bill Vaccaro
The Pinhole Camera By Brian J. Krummel
Krappy Kamera® XI The Book 2009
Shots Magazine, Anniversary Issue #100
Shots Magazine, Dreams Issue #101
Shots Magazine, Open Issue #104
Shots Magazine, Smoke & Mirrors #107
Fotoblur Magazine Issue #2 2009
PhotoPlace Open 2010
TOYCAM Lo-Fi Photography By The Toycam Bookteam, 2010
rpendel@gmail.com
