I started photographing in college with a Minolta 101 and never stopped. I am a retired engineer, and an avid non-professional photographer. The photography showcased in my online gallery bluestemgallery.com reflects my varied interests of subjects: landscapes, flora, architecture, funerary art/cemeteries, gardens, cathedrals, graffiti/street art, cloisters/gargoyles and abstractions.
I have always enjoyed exploring cemeteries, from the simple county cemetery, to the grand, old cemeteries, such as Paris’s Pere-Lachaise. Cemeteries are outdoor repositories of art and history, a peaceful place to walk and photograph. The native wildflowers of Illinois are one of my favorite subjects. I try to capture the visual elegance of these forgotten beauties in my “flora portraits.”
After 50 plus years, I’m still trying to anticipate, wait, and capture nature’s perfect lighting on my subject. The challenge for me is to “discover” a scene where the visual elements create a simple, compelling composition. My approach to photography is very traditional. I digitally enhance my images, but the composition remains static... as-shot. My goal is to create a compelling fine art print for exhibition in a physical or online gallery, and of course prints for a photo book.
One of my favorite old-school photographers is Henri Cartier Bresson. In his book, The Mind’s Eye, he wrote: “Manufactured or staged photography does not concern me. There are those who take photographs arranged beforehand and those who go out to discover the image and seize it”. I find that the searching and seizing can be both rewarding and frustrating, it is how I approach this art form.
Digital cameras and Photoshop have made taking and processing images much easier compared to the film and dark room days, but have not replaced the dedication, study, and knowledge of composition/lighting needed to produce fine art prints. I continue to study the work and of my favorite, old-school photographers, such as Henri-Cartier-Bresson, Margaret Bourke-White, Edward Steichen, Edward Weston, Ansel Adams, Paul Strand, Michael Kenna, and many more. Their work always inspires me.
