As a self-taught photographer, I am interested in the way I see an image in my mind. What matters first - is the idea behind the work, then comes the technicalities in executing the idea.
The development of my work evolved from my film-school training at New York University School of the Arts and my background in classical and modern dance. These influenced the way I stage a set, light or choose a scene and pose a figure. I began telling stories in a sequence of visuals.
Since the mid-eighties, I have been Venice-based in California. I work primarily in the platinum process, an antique printing method developed in the late 19th century, because it lends itself to a timeless interpretation of the past. I use a large format camera and contact print the original 8 X 10 negative to capture all the detail and richness of tone in the print’s surface.
The nature of my work is to capture an essence of a subject that will transcend time and have a universal and spiritual quality.
E. F. Kitchen
