Artists are required to produce a “bio” from time to time for a variety of reasons. Most of us find this difficult. We are generally comfortable talking about our medium (photography in my case), but not so comfortable talking about ourselves. Most “bios” I have read are about photographers that are certainly more famous and perhaps far more accomplished than I might ever hope to be. I am just a small town dentist willing to take a chance that people will accept and hopefully enjoy my art. Here is the bio...
In the half century (or so) that I have been given the good fortune to walk this planet I have had a great number of hobbies, past-times and interests. Photography is the one that has endured the longest and remain the most active today. Through all the phases of my life, photography has been a constant.
My first camera was a Canon EX 35mm (that’s film - you know the clear plastic strip with a light sensitive emulsion on its surface that we used to make slides or negatives in the ‘old days’) semi-interchangeable lens SLR that now seems rather primitive when compared to today’s digital SLR fare. During the life of this first camera and its analog successors, I have probably exposed and developed many thousands of rolls of film over the years. Countless hours have been spent processing and printing in home darkrooms ranging from kneel in your closet “hidey-holes” to fully set-up color developing and printing facilities. Over the years, time became scarcer and these darkroom activities fell by the wayside. Commercial laboratory processing became the way to produce images, adding to the cost and limiting one’s creativity to a certain extent.
When digital photography emerged on the scene a little over a decade ago I was ‘on it’ immediately. I have since gone completely digital and haven’t exposed a roll of film for nearly ten years. The advent and mainstream acceptance of digital technology certainly has changed the face of photography. It certainly has not simplified photography, nor has it made it any cheaper! I can assure you that today’s digital darkroom occupies no less space and is far more complex than any film operation. As digital technology improves I try to keep up - now sporting a ‘stable’ of Canon digital SLR bodies, lenses, and accessories that satisfies my desire to have the best tools for the job at hand.
Digital photography allows us far greater flexibility and latitude to express our creativity. We are no longer bound by the limitations of film and analog printing. There are more ways to record our images, more ways in which to manipulate the recorded image and more ways in which to present the results. Even with all this technology at my fingertips (literally) I remain a little old school in that the print is still my medium of choice. I do not think that there is any other vehicle that does the same justice to the art of photography. To this end, I have extended my commitment to photography to include fine art printing (larger format printing on high quality paper with archival inks). Mounting, matting and framing have also become an integral part of my repertoire.
I have always loved the photographic arts as a way of recording my experiences along the road life has put before me. While I create images for myself primarily, I derive a great deal of pleasure from sharing them with others. In the past this has been accomplished by putting together ‘photo albums’ of trips, holidays and events to be shown around at family gatherings or to friends and other captive audiences. Over the years, the energy and motivation that I have been able to dedicate to photography has ebbed and flowed. Never quite waning completely but also not reaching its full potential until the last few years. My career as a dentist and my ever flexible and forgiving family has afforded me the freedom to pursue this passion.
In short (well actually in retrospect - quite long!), I hope you enjoy these images and derive even a fraction of the satisfaction that creating them has given me.
In the half century (or so) that I have been given the good fortune to walk this planet I have had a great number of hobbies, past-times and interests. Photography is the one that has endured the longest and remain the most active today. Through all the phases of my life, photography has been a constant.
My first camera was a Canon EX 35mm (that’s film - you know the clear plastic strip with a light sensitive emulsion on its surface that we used to make slides or negatives in the ‘old days’) semi-interchangeable lens SLR that now seems rather primitive when compared to today’s digital SLR fare. During the life of this first camera and its analog successors, I have probably exposed and developed many thousands of rolls of film over the years. Countless hours have been spent processing and printing in home darkrooms ranging from kneel in your closet “hidey-holes” to fully set-up color developing and printing facilities. Over the years, time became scarcer and these darkroom activities fell by the wayside. Commercial laboratory processing became the way to produce images, adding to the cost and limiting one’s creativity to a certain extent.
When digital photography emerged on the scene a little over a decade ago I was ‘on it’ immediately. I have since gone completely digital and haven’t exposed a roll of film for nearly ten years. The advent and mainstream acceptance of digital technology certainly has changed the face of photography. It certainly has not simplified photography, nor has it made it any cheaper! I can assure you that today’s digital darkroom occupies no less space and is far more complex than any film operation. As digital technology improves I try to keep up - now sporting a ‘stable’ of Canon digital SLR bodies, lenses, and accessories that satisfies my desire to have the best tools for the job at hand.
Digital photography allows us far greater flexibility and latitude to express our creativity. We are no longer bound by the limitations of film and analog printing. There are more ways to record our images, more ways in which to manipulate the recorded image and more ways in which to present the results. Even with all this technology at my fingertips (literally) I remain a little old school in that the print is still my medium of choice. I do not think that there is any other vehicle that does the same justice to the art of photography. To this end, I have extended my commitment to photography to include fine art printing (larger format printing on high quality paper with archival inks). Mounting, matting and framing have also become an integral part of my repertoire.
I have always loved the photographic arts as a way of recording my experiences along the road life has put before me. While I create images for myself primarily, I derive a great deal of pleasure from sharing them with others. In the past this has been accomplished by putting together ‘photo albums’ of trips, holidays and events to be shown around at family gatherings or to friends and other captive audiences. Over the years, the energy and motivation that I have been able to dedicate to photography has ebbed and flowed. Never quite waning completely but also not reaching its full potential until the last few years. My career as a dentist and my ever flexible and forgiving family has afforded me the freedom to pursue this passion.
In short (well actually in retrospect - quite long!), I hope you enjoy these images and derive even a fraction of the satisfaction that creating them has given me.
© Julian Buchwald