Textured Photos

Textured Photography is the name I have given to my art photography, the images that I show in exhibitions.

There is a great dramatic power in black and white photography. It makes the eye focus on the shapes, the relationships and the story without letting colors distract. Too often, in color photography, the presence of a brilliant color brings some object or juxtaposition to the forefront, when it is not actually something that needs to be there.

But color… is something I cannot live without. Is there a take more control of color and put it to work emphasizing what is important and underscoring the relationship of the elements in the photographic story? Is there a way to use colors symbolically? and not simply as they come, jumbled serendipitously before us. I strive to do this with my textured photography. Each of these images began as black and white darkroom prints. They were toned with selenium, sepia or other toners to give them a warmth, and then colored using photographic oil paints, oil pens, and pastel sticks. They are finally treated with laquering to preserve the image.

The result is an image that comes through to the viewer by the interplay of various artistic methods. It is textured. It is the result of several experiences and methods. It is a witness.

Click on the images or the links to see some of my textured photography.

Antique Photography

Antique Photography: These images were printed from fragile glass negatives from the early Twentieth Century. The negatives are scratched and the emulsion cracked and fragile, but the images are fresh and beautiful. I have enhanced their liveliness with colors. There are photos of Japan, taken by a missinary family, and some portraits of Vaudeville performers, farmers and soldiers.

Romanian portraits

Romanian portraits: I spent over three years in Romania, 1992-1995. My first impression of Bucharest was that I could stand on a street corner and just shoot roll after roll of film, just focusing on the people who passed. There was so much history in the faces, in the gestures and the clothing of the population. As a teacher trainer, I traveled widely in the country visiting dozens of cities and towns. During that time, I always had my camera ready to take photographs in the marketplace and on the streets.

Ecuador

Ecuador: I spent several months in Ecuador in 1996, giving teachers workshops in Guayaquil and traveling to the interior and to the Galapagos Islands. I liked to spend time under the cool trees along the Guayas River, where many of my photos were taken.

Lo Stadio dei Marmi

Lo Stadio dei Marmi: photographs of the statues at this famous marble stadium in Rome. The sports complex there was built during the 1930s as part of the Foro Italico project. The area still has manyunfortunate reminders of that sad chapter in Italian history, when arrogant nationalism became a deadly political fever, but these statues represent the beauty that can rise up even out of adversity.

Mesoamerica

Mesoamerica: negatives that I bought at a flea sale. Pictures of soldiers in their barracks and small town people at the market. It seems to be somewhere in Central America, and during the early mid-Twentieth Century. Could it be wartime?

Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic: the first meeting of European and Native America and African took place here. A place of beauty and music and happiness and peace in spite of all the hardships and disappointments of five hundred years.