collodion photograph © david matuszek
My passion for photography began in 1971 when I wandered into an art classroom where the photography class was being held. Most photographers (of a certain vintage) will always remember the first time they saw an image materialize in a tray of developer. I was hooked - and began a lifetime of chemical stains, smelling of fixer and the endless struggle to make my images better. I attended Rhode Island School of Photography and was selected for a 1976 summer internship at the PPA's Winona School of Professional Photography where I met many of the finest photographers working at that time.
I spent 2 years working as a custom printer for a professional lab, then 2 years working in advanced image research before opening my own full-service custom photographic lab in 1980, concentrating on commercial, advertising and fine art photographers as my clients. In the 40 years since, there have been many changes in the field, the advances in digital technology having the greatest impact. My primary focus today is on the photography of works of art and fine craft and giclee printmaking for artists and fine art photographers. I have been privileged to work with many fine artists, museums, galleries and collections, making images for catalogs, promotional materials and archival uses.
Having been involved with photography for over 50 years, I have seen many changes in the field, both technologically and in the perception of photography as an art form. I am influenced in my photography by the work of the FSA photographers of the 30s and 40s, and endeavor to document the places and objects that are vanishing from our lives. In many cases, their time in life has passed while others sit silently, awaiting their uncertain future. To this end, I have concentrated on the large format camera and black and white film as my means of documenting the existence of places and things that are all too quickly being replaced with the plastic sprawl of modern culture.