Shadow and Light Photog. Mag. 2015

In honor of Mother’s Day, this issue of Shadow &
Light Magazine will primarily feature women. Our
Featured Photographer is Barbara Collins, while
we have portfolios by Lena Edstrom, Karin Hillmer,
and Rosanne Olson. Elizabeth Siegfried shares a
discovery she made and has fashioned into “Cards
Without Words.” Editor-at-large, Helen K. Garber
offers some well-earned insight about climbing
the mythical ladder of photographic success and
pleasing Mom.
Along with the ladies, Irving Greines shares his
portfolio, “Urban Wilderness,” where we are
taken on a walk around cement and steel areas
of London, Havana, San Francisco’s Chinatown,
and Los Angeles. George DeWolfe shares his
Contemplative Photography thoughts and Alain
Briot continues to educate us about the how and
why of marketing our work.
Don’t forget that we make it easy for you to
have your work published in a future issue of
Shadow & Light Magazine. Many times, after a
photographer has submitted work to the “Single
Image Showcase,” their work has been chosen to
be included in our “Showcase Portfolio” sections.
All you have to do is go to www.
shadowandlightmagazine.com and click on the
“Submissions” tab.
****
A couple of months ago I was asked by a friend if I
wanted to purchase a table at an outdoor arts and
crafts show his parents were organizing. Since he
was a friend, I said “of course.” Time passed and
pretty soon it was “Show Time!”
For a couple of weeks prior to the event, my
partner and I had assembled quite a few items we
thought people might be interested in taking home
with them.
She is a painter and I a photographer; each of us
with a wide variety of canvases and prints that had
been languishing in bins and at the back of closets.
So, in mutual agreement, we decided to take our
extra work and see if I could sell them.
During the whole two-day weekend we fought
wind, rain, and a general lack of customers. In
the end, however, I had sold most of the art and
had even picked up a customer for my WordPress
site-building business. My main customers were
people who had booths, many of whom hadn’t
been exposed to what I was
offering.
I learned another valuable
“think outside the box”
lesson: Sometimes it helps
to take your work where few
others have gone.
****
As many of you know I will
be taking a California trip in
June. I will mostly be visiting
family, photographing
sand and sea, forests, and
anything else that draws my
creative eye.
One thing I am very much looking forward to doing
is speaking at Paul’s Photo in Torrance. Thanks
to Karen Scheunemann, I will be doing a late
afternoon talk after giving portfolio reviews during
the day. I have even been asked to stay over and
do another round of portfolio reviews on Sunday.
When Karen notified me that she had organized
this weekend event she was worried that it would
interfere with my vacation. I simply told her that
mixing pleasure with photography is never work. If
you are in the area, I hope you will stop by Paul’s
Photo. Final details are still being decided, but it
should be fun, enlightening, and even educational.
Thank you, Karen!
I will be keeping you posted on both the Red Dog
News and Shadow & Light Magazine blogs, with
updates and pictures.
It’s been quite a while since I have done anything
like this and I am very much looking forward to
this wonderful opportunity.
****
This release marks issue five of Shadow & Light
Magazine and I would like to know what you
think. Are we meeting your expectations? Do you
enjoy each issue? What can we do to add to your
experience? Are there sections you like more than
others?
Just send an email to tim@cygnetpress.com and let
me know. Each and every email will be considered.
Your voice drives our success.
Refining the Art of Photography
www.shadowandlightmagazine.com
info@shadowandlightmagazine.com
Notes...
Shadow & Light Magazine

Single Image Showcase Photographers
Craig Duncan, Lawrence Russ, Louise Porter,
James Shirey, Georgia Pereyra,
Barbara Leven, Amy Ditto
Please note that all the contents and photographs and other images of this publication are the
sole property of their respective owners and are fully copyrighted.
Shadow & Light Magazine Staff
Tim Anderson managing editor
Pat Berrett assistant editor
Ann Hart Marquis art director
Helen K. Garber editor-at-large
Alcatraz is a draw for tourists and Bay Area residents alike. Ticketed public
access is only available by ferry to “The Rock.”
On the afternoon of my visit, the boat was packed with its usual overflow of
visitors. The boat departed from the San Francisco Embarcadero and, after
briefly circling Alcatraz and delivering a short pre-recorded-on-the-water
tour, deposited everyone at the prison’s dock. From here, everyone was
pretty much left on their own. With some exceptions, movement within the
building was remarkably unrestricted.
Twilight was approaching and the waning light inside the prison created a
somewhat forbidding atmosphere in the areas illuminated solely by natural
light. The individually-lit cells could be explored, but the darker kitchen
and hospital areas held the most interest for me, especially the westerly-
facing Clinic, where the final rays of light filtered through bars and window
screens.
Despite the number of visitors passing through, the Clinic felt lonely
and isolated, a feeling that seemed appropriate given Alcatraz’s current
deactivated status. I had a six-inch high tripod in my pack. Once attached
to the camera, it was placed low on the floor, camera tilted slightly upward.
I waited for the flow of visitors to lessen. Daylight was receding. As the sun
approached the horizon, the rays of the sun lengthened inside the Clinic. I
set the camera for timed exposures, each frame changing with the ebbing
light.
Later, when I looked at the captured digital images, I noticed a shadow on
the back wall. Where did it come from? No one had been behind me. It was
then I realized that it was my shadow on the Clinic wall.
Barbara Collins
Behind the Cover
Fifteen Remarks on Composition
A Mother’s Day Note
Fanny
Cards Without Words
Music and Arts
Contemplative Photography
Pinhole Travels

Featured Photographer
©Barbara Collins • www.collinsphotoimages.com • mbcoll@ieee.org
Cut Off. ©Barbara Collins
Shadow & Light Magazine: Have you always wanted to be a photographer? When did you realize that, “Hey!
Maybe I should make a career of this thing.”
Barbara Collins: It wasn’t a matter of “I want to be a photographer.” It has always been “I want to capture
and interpret the world as I see it.” The interrelationship of shapes, spaces and light fascinate me, both two-
dimensional and three-dimensional situations. This is consistent with the years I worked in both ceramics and
graphic design. At university, the study of architecture—the creation and organization of volumes for specific
uses and aesthetic impact—were incredibly interesting for me.
Photography is an extension of these disciplines. This medium allows for the capture of various environments;
post-processing allows the photographer to interpret the images based on personal experience. So, perhaps,
my involvement with photography has brought this life-long need full circle. In the not-so-far-back reaches of
my mind, I feel that working with photography in a three-dimensional, almost sculptural way would open a
plethora of future possibilities.
SLM: Has the artistic side of photography always been your staple, or did you gravitate there from a
commercial background?

BC: Yes, to both parts of this question. My background in graphic design was, of course, commercial.
Photography was a part of that. Those years definitely affected how I look at objects, environments and people
and how I chose to combine them in my images. The core of graphic design is communication; “pretty” is
not always the most important aspect of an image—the communication of a concept is. However, even if an
image is a bit somber or unusual, the goal is not to be so off-putting that a potential viewer is turned away.
Photography provides a way to interpret and communicate whatever the photographer desires; how the
photographer sees is paramount.
SLM: When you set out to work on a series, how do you begin? Do you have a plan, or do you let it evolve kind
of on its own?
BC: Over the years, I have found that a rough plan before shooting leads to more successful results. This
begins with choosing how and where the initial photographs are captured. And why. For instance, with the
subject matter in the Dark Spaces series, ambient and directed light was to be the constant among the
architectural images. To emphasize this, I looked for images where light was instrumental in visually shaping
images and highlighting the important areas of the environment. During editing, most of the original images
were discarded because they lacked the possibility to capture the desired effects during post-processing. From
this point forward, there is a lot of “it just happens.” The basic feeling/concept of the series is what then guides
me. Intuition guides me.
SLM: What is the concept behind “Dark Spaces”? Is this a finished series, or are there more of them hidden
Ronchamps. ©Barbara Collins
text cont’d. page 5 >>>

Metro Darkness. ©Barbara Collins

somewhere deep in your soul?
BC: Not so much “hidden deep in your soul.” Often, when I enter an environment, my thoughts return to this
series. How would this place look if reduced it to black and white? What is the play of light? Would this place
be compatible with the images already in the series? The concept of Dark Spaces is by placing the viewer in
an environment, they are encouraged to see below the surface: what kind of a space is this, what happened
here, why is that important, how does it make you feel, how do you personally interpret the image based on
life’s experiences?
SLM:This is the only portfolio on your site that is black and white. Is that an anomaly? Are you more drawn to
color? How did this series end up as black and white?
BC: I want to create more black-and-white portfolios. In many ways, creating a series of related monochrome
images seems more challenging to me than working in black and white. When the seductiveness of color is
removed, what is left is shadow and light, the essential elements of an image. Lack of color removes a form of
distraction and encourages the viewer to concentrate on concept and emotion—the “why” of an image. For the
“Dark Spaces” series, these were the considerations that led me to create the series in black and white.
With color, considerable post-processing time is spent “getting the color right.” Of course, color frequently is
necessary to achieve the desired emotional impact on the viewer. The intended concept rules here. As always,
Silent Passage. ©Barbara Collins
text cont’d. from page 2 >>>
text cont’d. page 7 >>>

Under San Francisco. ©Barbara Collins

text cont’d. from page 5
it is the image that is chosen and the artist’s lifetime experiences that make the final result what it is.
SLM: On your site, while there are specific titles/sections for the portfolios, they mostly seem to be shrouded in
mystery, in light and dark; even the ones that are in color. Where does this come from?
BC: When I look at a series during and after completion, this occurs to me, also. The darkness and mystery
just seem to happen. Which is more interesting, a clear, blue sky or an overcast, cloudy sky that adds shadows
and occasional funnels of light? What makes an environment more meaningful?
From a young age, I have been drawn to musical compositions written in or including a minor key. It traps
my attention. I love the sound. If a minor key occurs occasionally throughout a piece, it adds a bit of mystery
and depth, as though a new theme or personality has entered the scene. I ask myself why was this inserted
in the piece or why was that piece written in a minor rather than a major key. The composer is enhancing the
musical theme. He is encouraging the listener to think, to go beneath the surface of the composition. In my
photo series, the darkness and mystery is a bit like that minor key. I am attempting to encourage viewers to
look below the surface for an additional meaning in the image. Often that additional meaning is a bit dark,
brooding, foreboding.
SLM: Even though there are many sharp and well-defined angles in this series, I also “feel” a certain amount
of softness. Is that something you sought to achieve consciously?
BC: Softness in some of the images seemed appropriate to the subject. For example, the Ronchamps image
Zagora Hotel. ©Barbara Collins

8
City of the Future. ©Barbara Collins
was taken in a dark chapel. The light coming through the tower, designed to mimic the habit of a nun, was
quite diffuse and interfered with a clear view of the window from the floor below. In Inside Birkenau, this is
an environment with an ugly past. Now, there are grasses and visitors. The buildings have been restored,
somewhat. The real past, although clear historically, is somewhat hazy; there are many ghosts. For me,
Birkenau’s environment does not fully convey the horrors of 1941-1945.
In contrast, City of the Future and LACMA were photographed in Los Angeles, a city known for its straight-
forward manner. The images are among those that are sharp and somewhat simplified in shape, like many
contemporary structures in LA. There, the environment is constantly changing, with an emphasis on the new.
SLM: I also noticed on your site that you have a variety of sizes available. Have you been offering prints in this
manner for long? Do you edition them? Can you share a bit of your philosophy on print sales?
BC: This “philosophy” has evolved over time. I offer prints in a variety of sizes, based on past requests from
potential buyers. It has eliminated questions at the front end when someone looking at my web site wonders
about size. If a requested size is not listed, I will bring up the photo and see whether or not the new size would
hold up in a larger size. Also, if another size seems inappropriate to the subject, the potential buyer and I will
have a discussion.
SLM: I have noticed that your Facebook page seems to be “neglected.” Is that also true with other social media
outlets? Like me, do you find that there is only so much time during a day, that there is too little day to get the
things done we want to?
BC:Yes. You are right. My FB page is extremely neglected. There are only so many hours in the day, and I have
chosen to give those hours to areas other than to Facebook. I have never looked to social media to publicize
my work, unlike many people in media and the arts who do so successfully. Initially, I set up a FB account so
that I could follow the lives and accomplishments of friends and family members.
SLM: What is next for Barbara Collins? What gets you up in the morning with a desire to press a shutter?
BC: The possibility of discovery. New surroundings and weather conditions, which create many interesting
lighting effects, encourage me to grab the camera. Found objects, such as weathered bones on a beach
demand attention. Familiar surroundings photographed under new conditions or with specialized equipment
can be interesting. For the series “Finding Jewels in the Dark:Zone Plate Photography,” images were taken at
night without a lens and with long exposures. During post-processing, I discovered that when these images
were extracted from their darkness, wonderful colors emerged that I wasn’t able to capture during daylight
with either a conventional lens
or with a zone plate. There
is an element of mystery.
What am I going to discover?
Ultimately, what excites me is
light and how it enables me
to see differently. It is never
really the same twice; it is
always variable. ❍
***
“…light that reveals, light
that obscures, light that
communicates. It is light I
“listen” to. The light late in the
day has a distinct duality, as
it fades toward the darkness
of evening…the air begins to
still, and a quiet descends. I
see magic in the quiet light of
dusk. I feel quiet, yet intense
energy.... A sense of magic
prevails. A sense of mystery. It
is time for contemplation, for
listening—a time for making
photographs.”
John Sexton

Inside Birkenau. ©Barbara Collins
Los Angeles County Museum of Art. ©Barbara Collins

©Craig Duncan • www.craigduncanphoto.squarespace.com/ • craigfduncan@gmail.com

Lemons in Cloth Fruit Basket, San Rafael, 2013. • ©Robert Hecht • www.roberthecht.com • bob@onpointpro.com

MarketPlace
Alain Briot
Fifteen Remarks on Composition
Imagination is more important than knowledge.
Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.
Albert Einstein
1. Composition is the strongest way of seeing
This is Edward Weston’s definition of composition
It is still my favorite definition of composition
2. Composition is not just the placement of objects in the frame
Composition also involves using color, contrast and light
Composition includes post processing in the raw converter and in Photoshop
3. The goal of composition is to express your vision and your emotional response to the scene
The goal of Fine Art Composition is not to create a documentary representation of the scene
Nor is it to create a photograph that is only technically perfect
The goal is to create an image that is superior, both expressively and technically
4. What the camera captures is objective. What the artist’s sees and feels are subjective.
Take stock of your emotional response to the scene in front of you
Record those emotions in writing or in audio
Use light, color, contrast, composition and cropping to reproduce these emotions visually
Work on this both in the field and in the studio
5. Think first about light
A photograph is only as good as the light you use
The subject is less important than the light that illuminates this subject
Dusk, Mono Lake, California

The best subject in bad light does not make for a good photograph
6. Use foreground-background relationships.
Find a great foreground and place it in front of a great background
Make sure your foreground is large enough to play an important role in the composition
7. Contrast opposites elements
Human beings think and see in terms of opposites
Therefore this is something everyone can relate to
Opposite examples:
Static/moving
Young/old
Large/small
Organic/man made
8. Composing a photograph is not about redoing what someone else has done before
If tempted to redo an image you have seen, just buy the postcard, the book or the poster
You cannot be someone else, therefore you cannot take the same photographs as someone else
You will waste time trying to do so.
Instead, start to create your own images right away
9. Being inspired and redoing someone else’s work are two different things
You can certainly be inspired by the work of other photographers
We have all been inspired by the work of other artists and photographers
This is an inherent aspect of the artistic process
10. No amount of technology can make up for a lack of inspiration
Cameras and other gears are technical
Inspiration is artistic
The two exist on different planes
Achieving a Personal style in Fine Art means working as an artist not just as a technician
11. People, not cameras, compose photographs
Certainly, a camera is a necessity
However, your camera cannot compose a photograph anymore than your car can drive itself
12. “Correct” is whatever works when the goal is to create fine art
There is no such thing as “the right thing” in art
Sunrise, Zabriskie Point, Death Valley, California

“What is Art ?” is a question to which there are many answers
We therefore have to answer this question for ourselves
We are also bound to disagree with others because fine art is a polarized activity.
13. Straight fine art prints are a myth
All fine art prints are a modification of the image recorded by the camera
The composition of the image you started in the field is continued in the studio
This is done through image optimization because colors, contrast, borders, image format, etc. are
all part of composition
14. The “right” color balance is the strongest way of seeing color
There is no such thing as the “right” color balance in Fine Art
This is because color is one of the ways you express your emotional response to the scene
For this reason, the “right” color balance for a specific image will differ from one photographer to
the next
15. The finest compositions are those you never saw until you created them
Recreating a composition you saw before is easy
Creating a brand new composition, one you have never seen before, is difficult
This is because doing so requires transforming the natural chaos into an organized image
It involves creating order out of chaos, as Elliott Porter said. ❍
About Alain Briot
Alain Briot creates fine art photographs, teaches workshops and offers DVD tutorials on composition,
raw conversion, optimization, printing and marketing. Alain is the author of Mastering Landscape
Photography, Mastering Photographic Composition and Marketing Fine Art Photography. All 3 books are
available from Alain’s website as well as from most bookstores.
Cottonwoods and Blue Mesa, Southern Utah

You can find more information about my work, writings and tutorials as well as subscribe to my Free Monthly Newsletter on my
website at www.beautiful-landscape.com. You will receive 40 free eBooks immediately after subscribing. I welcome your comments
on this essay as well as on my other essays. You can contact me via email at alain@beautiful-landscape.com.
I create fine art photographs, teach workshops and offer Mastery DVD tutorials on personal vision, composition, image conversion,
optimization, printing and marketing. I am the author of Mastering Landscape Photography, Mastering Photographic Composition,
Creativity and Personal Style, Marketing Fine Art Photography and How Photographs are Sold. All 4 books are available in eBook
format on my website at this link: www.beautiful-landscape.com/Ebooks-Books-1-2-3.html
Les Sentinelles Eternelles. May 2015 Print of the Month

The 7, 2010. ©Barbara Leven • www.barbaraleven.com • bleven@pobox.com

Mom loves your work, you love Mom
and the most natural step from there
is that you want to be a rich and
famous photographer. World renown,
prints selling for many, many dollars,
respect of your peers—and one of
my favorite parts, invitations to great
parties.
All doable with a plan, a road map, a
game plan.
I call it climbing the ladder of the fine
art photography world. Something
you need be physically and mentally
fit to do; just like climbing a ladder in
real life.
Step one is of course, learning your
craft. You have a number of ways to
learn how to take great photographs
and since we are aiming for the big
time, the best way to learn is to learn
from someone who is already rich and
famous.
Ah, but there is a catch here,
unless your dad happens to be John
Baldessari, Ansel Adams, or Edward
Weston, etc. You have to earn the
right to request a world famous
photographer to take you under their wing.
So, if you don’t have a close relative or family friend, then the most important thing to have is lots of
money. Because talent, unfortunately, is just not enough.
If you don’t have a connection, the second best way to a fast track career (at least in 2015) is by
going to a great university that has world famous photographers as teachers. Lots of money along with
tremendous hard work will buy you an MFA with collectors running to your MFA thesis show to purchase
your work at entry level rates. Gallerists come to you and life should be easy at least the first few years
of your career. An MFA from a great university might mean Most Famous Artist or at least Maybe Famous
Artist if you have the talent and drive to push ahead of your peers.
I meet artists all the time and despite their having earned those letters 40 years ago, still introduce
A Mother’s Day Note...
Helen K. Garber
©Helen K. Garber • www.helenkgarber.com • mail@helenkgarber.com
Double exposure from one of my first rolls of 120 film of myself and my mother,
Brooklyn, NY, 1971. ©Helen K. Garber
How to Go From Mom Complimenting Your Photos
to Your Work Hanging on Museum Walls
(Excerpt from a soon-to-be-published book)

themselves as having attended this great university under the guidance of a very famous and now
deceased artist. The experience shaped the rest of their lives—so something to consider when planning
your ride.
Hopefully someone has paid your way through college, though, because starting a fine art career with a
$250,000.00 student loan to pay off is a very undesirable place to be. I don’t recommend it and cannot
rationalize anyone thinking they can really make a success of climbing to the top of this very expensive
ladder when beginning from a very deep hole. The education must be paid by someone else by gift,
fellowship or work study program as you will have plenty of other expenses ahead of you to build your
career. The very talented will stand out in school and be supported by the institution. If you are not
getting that support through a fine art program, perhaps you might consider another line of work.
Money, money, money....it is the equal partner to talent to play this game. Education, camera, lights,
marketing, travel, exhibit preparation, another camera, mirror-less camera, large format cameras,
memory cards, storage, computers, printers, ink, projection equipment, assistants, contest entry fees,
portfolio reviews...what did I forget?
Oh yes, food, clothing, a roof over your head and perhaps a car. Depending on where you live, and how
you shoot, but most photographers I know have some sort of vehicle to get them around place to place.
I teach night photography courses to adult education students at Otis College of Art and Design here in
Los Angeles. My students seem to be well off older students who drive very, very nice cars and shoot
with the latest and best equipment. They really enjoy their photography as they make their money in
other professions and then use that money to satisfy their artistic urges. And they are talented and more
focused in my classroom than the MFA students I meet at Otis as they are in control of their education.
They can easily pay for it, take only one course at a time so they can concentrate on it and are very
much more relaxed and happy by not trying to make their money through their art. So even if they are in
their 50’s or 60’s, they may still enjoy another 30 years of making art—something also to consider when
you are deciding which road to travel. But it is all a gamble as you never know when your life or perhaps
just your ability to make art will be taken away.
Let’s say you are in your early 20’s and like myself at that age, the thought of being a banker, lawyer,
doctor or even professor has no appeal. I was great at math so my mother encouraged me to take
accounting in college. A painful two courses (before computers) and I gave up. She was right though, at
least learn a skill that people are easily willing to pay for and work part time at that to fund your artistic
career. Learn the profitable skill while you are young so you do not have to depend on anyone else to
allow you to make your art.
Pier Fog, 2003, In the permanent collection of the George Eastman House,
International Museum of Film and PHotography, Rochester, NY. ©Helen K. Garber
text continued on page 22...

Poster for the Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art Show. 20 prints of the exhibit were acquired by the museum ©Helen K. Garber

Or create the multi-billion dollar APP first, so you can fly around in your private to shoot wherever you
want to, whenever you want. I am surrounded by wealthy young people here at Silicon Beach, so perhaps
that might be the best advice I can give.
So, my algorithm is: Drive + Talent + Education + Business Sense + MONEY + TENACITY = LUCK.
I am on a much higher rung than when I started, still working my way up after 20 years in the ever
changing rules of the Art World Ladder Game, but have a positive outlook on life, a solid marriage or
relationship and very much enjoy the challenge of the game. I am especially lucky to still be able to share
my new images with my mother, now mostly by Facebook as her walls are already filled to the brim with
my framed work.
Miss Lucy the Trailer.
Group SC 2009, An Intimate
View of Southern CA
Helen K. Garber, Director
In the permanent collection
San Diego Automotive
Museum, San Diego, CA
Image files in the permanent
collection of the Huntington
Library, San Marino, CA
©Helen K. Garber
Griffith Park
Observatory, 1997.
In the permanent
collection of Los
Angeles County
Museum of Art, Los
Angeles, CA.
©Helen K. Garber
...text continued from page 20
Next exhibit: Water Rising, Leica Gallery Beverly Hills, CA 90210. July 16 – August 24, 2015

Showcase Portfolio
Irving Greines: Urban Wilderness? Chaos Transformed
Since 1990, I have been pursuing a photographic series called Urban Wilderness? Chaos
Transformed, which embodies the images I’ve captured while randomly walking the blighted
neighborhoods and back alleys of large, densely populated cities like New York, Paris, Rome,
London, Havana, San Francisco’s Chinatown, and Los Angeles.
Amidst the litter, decay and blight—condemned by most (but not me) as unsightly—I find beauty,
a beauty that I endeavor to portray in my photography. The neighborhoods I explore are old, but
rich with character, a character that cannot be found in the tonier, upscale parts of town.
As my exploration of these environments deepened, I was able to discover that there is much
beauty to be found amidst the grime. This is the beauty of ugliness, a beauty that escapes most
as they never bother to stop and look. I have found hidden gems among the chaos and blight and
that has been fulfilling.
The images are ephemeral and, like living organisms, change continuously as new layers of
weather, grime, and graffiti overlap and obliterate the old. And, sadly, the neighborhoods where
these images were found are changing, the old being replaced by urban renewal undertaken in the
name of progress. I mourn the transformation from authenticity and uniqueness into sameness.
As a Washington Post review of my 2000 Washington DC show reported: “Urban renewal and
gentrification are supposed to be good things. But here [in the world of Urban Wilderness] these
improvements seem almost sad.” I’m glad I had the opportunity to document what no longer
exists.
Irving Greines
©Irving Greines • www.irvinggreinesphotography.com • igreines@gmsr.com

Turning Pages
Jock Sturges: Fanny
Jock Sturges: Fanny • www.amazon.com
Jock Sturges gets a lot of press, often
negative, derisive, and downright
cruel. His new book, “Fanny” will
most certainly gain its own legion of
detractors.
Many years ago a neighbor of mine
came over to my house and blasted
me for listening to the Beatles. I was
working in my backyard and had the
music turned up, but not too much.
He preceded to tell me that “that
music” was going to be the downfall of
humanity.
I simply asked him if he had ever read
any of the lyrics or actually listened to
the music. It would be very difficult to
call Lennon’s “Imagine” anything other
than what it is: a beautiful, thoughtful
song. I think Sturges’ critics suffer from
the same mentality.
“Sturges does it again. Much like his previous release, “Misty Dawn,” this photo essay follows Fanny from
a young age, on through adulthood. It’s fascinating to see the girl, the skittish teen, and the full flower of
womanhood emerge over the course of years.
“As an adult, this lovely woman has a strong, distinctive look—a defined jaw that adds strength to femininity.
Looking backwards in time, I was fascinated to see how early this feature became apparent, how the adult
started to appear in the child. So, this works very well as a photo-biography. But it also works as a study in
figure photography, presented with warmth and sensitivity in a beautifully printed format. If you’re not already
familiar with Sturges’s work, there’s plenty to choose from—but the could be a good start.”
Wiredweird/Amazon
The above review reflects the sentiment of all the reviews I read on Amazon. Over the years I have collected
more than a few of Surges’ books. Taken as a biographical photo-essay of the coming-to-age of a woman, it
complements the work of another photographer who has
had her share of negative reviews because of the subjects
of her work: her family.
Of course I am talking about Sally Mann. For most of her
career she has had to defend her work, even while her
family supports it.
“The images that I made that summer are the most
moving for me in all my work of her,” Sturges writes in
the Introduction. “I asked her what picture she would
like to make first, she said, ‘Please make a picture of me
making angel wings so that Mama will know that I am
thinking of her (cover image, above).’”
Fanny’s mother passed in 1995, and it was a tremendous
blow to the then ten-year old. Such was the connection

Turning Pages
the photographer had with Fanny, whom he didn’t begin photographing until much later, after the girl had
stayed with him and his wife, in Montalivet, France, that it took a mutual agreement to enable him to
continue photographing her, with all the proceeds going to her for the next four years. He told her about
the notion of exploitation and how it could affect her life.
“Beauty remains a mystery. And Magic. We do not know why Fanny agreed over so many years to pose
for Jock Sturges. Perhaps she does not even know herself,” Walter Keller writes in the Afterword. “But,
as we witness her ascent into life, we can easily recognize in the work, in her eyes, is that she is always
just there, never posing for us. Only for herself. The older she becomes, the more we realize: Fanny is a
continent in and of herself.”
Slipping in and out of this book, one may find that instead of being turned away, Fanny becomes a
magnet, almost daring you to turn away, give your self some relief. But, you can’t. You don’t want to turn
away. She is a muse who is guiding you through a life of challenge, death,
and, most importantly, growth.
“Fanny” is printed beautifully (Steidl) and is a large format coffee-table
book, that features exquisite photography, images taken with great care and
dedication, with the subject at the foremost of the photographer’s thoughts
during the whole process.
It isn’t a book aimed at exploitation. It’s a book about family ties and
connections, realized over a lifetime of work by Sturges, photographing at a
small community in France.
As a father, there are many times that I wish I had taken the time to
photograph my children in as much intimacy and detail as Jock Sturges has
done with Fanny (right, detail). It is a wonderful legacy to a life lived, and a life
photographed.

Showcase Portfolio
Lena Edstrom: Portraits of My Sister
©Lena Edstrom • www.lena-edstrom.squarespace.com/ • lenaedstrom@me.com
This body of work exemplifies the idea of all earthly things being connected to and reflective of each
other. As all earthly things come from the same essential matter, we are all connected to nature, and
nature to us. As a photographer, I strive to visually represent this idea through my art form by including
the human form and landscapes. The softness of natural overcast light helps to truly show the softness
and beauty of my subjects’ curves and shows both forms’ similarities.
Furthermore, a lot of my work is based in northern Sweden, where my family is from, and of my beautiful
sister, Hanna Edström, the subject of this series. The connectedness I feel to my family’s home and my
sister provides for the natural ease of these images. This was especially surprising to see in this particular
series, as this shoot lasted only 10 minutes and the only equipment used was my Canon SLR camera, due
to a blundering thunderstorm rolling in seconds after the shoot’s conclusion.
The earth’s landscape and the human form are a big part of my photographic work as a whole, as I
believe that the understanding of all things created of and from the Earth being connected is a very
important concept to identify.
Lena Edstrom
Woodland Intimacy 14. ©David Quinn

Local Geometry. ©Amy Ditto • www.amyditto.com • amy.m.ditto@gmail.com

First Person
Cards Without Words
I am fortunate to have a family whose past generations loved taking pictures, both motion and still. My
maternal great-grandfather and his son and daughter (my grandmother) were avid photographers who,
living in Rochester, NY in Kodak’s “heyday” had first-hand access to the cutting edge of photographic
technology.
In 2006, at my family’s beloved summer home built by my great-grandfather near Algonquin Park in
Ontario, I found a dusty cardboard box full of what appeared to be old dishes and the remains of squirrel
nests. It was in this box that I discovered 16mm film treasure. The films had been shot between 1922
and 1945 and were in remarkably stable condition. This footage, forgotten for decades, was about to
share vignettes of a unique family’s life with a revealing glimpse into history. I sensed I had discovered
something extraordinary. Eventually, it would prove to be the source of inspiration for several bodies of
photographic-based work.
The ninety-two reels of film were transferred to digital video media and uploaded to my computer. Slowly,
with the help of film editing software and plenty of time, I was able to examine each (and every!) frame
and study scenes of my family’s activities during the 1920s, ‘30s and ‘40s. I saw locations that ranged
from their year-round home in Rochester, to places in Sarasota, Florida, where the Ringling Circus spent
the winter months, to the family’s two very different summer homes, one on Lake Ontario and the other
©Elizabeth Seigfried • www.cardswithoutwords.com/ • elizsieg@elizabethsiegfried.com
Another Big Catch. ©Elizabeth Siegfried

a three-day’s journey north into what was then the
wilderness of Canada. Through the films, I joined
their busy, multifaceted lives and had the chance to
“get to know” my relatives, most of whom had died
well before I was born.
As a way to tell stories, I decided to capture selected
film frames. Even though I didn’t film the original
footage, I was able to “shoot” chosen frames to
capture telltale gestures and ordinary (or not-so-
ordinary) events. The process kept me in a constant
state of wonder at how similar my own photographic
sensibility is to that of my predecessors who took
the films, particularly my grandmother. This footage,
shot so many years ago, supplied a seemingly
endless source of material for me to “photograph,”
without having to leave my studio—an unexpected
and possibly pre-destined collaboration with two
previous generations of photographers in my family!
These films have provided me with fodder for two
significant bodies of work. Termina, first shown
at the Stephen Bulger Gallery in Toronto in 2009,
is a photographic installation that tells of the
dwindling of my family tree (www.terminaproject.
com)—it features four large grids of 16 images
each, displaying three generations of my maternal
ancestors and me. Currently in progress, the second
project is called Honey’s Kodak Moments: Life in
the City, The Country, The Wilds and incorporates
film frames from footage shot by my grandmother
(“Honey”)—it points to a woman ahead of her time,
combining her keen eye with the latest photographic
equipment and techniques. Three distinct layers of
social activity emerge from Honey’s images, shot
at her three primary living locations: urban, rural,
and wilderness. Hers is a fascinating sociological
story: the formal social rules of this privileged
family from Kodak-era Rochester change shape
with the uninhibited antics of their lives outside the
city. The exhibition of Honey’s Kodak Moments:
Life in the City, The Country, The Wilds will have an
accompanying book with an introduction by London
School of Economics Sociology professor, Dr. Michael
McQuarrie.
The most far-reaching project the films have inspired
is an entrepreneurial venture: “Cards Without
Words” (www.cardswithoutwords.com). Featuring
selected film frames on the front of each card,
“Cards Without Words” is an extensive set of blank
greeting cards organized into ten vintage and three
contemporary collections. The ten vintage collections
are called Elegant Ladies, Vintage Whimsy, Sarasota,
Ringling Circus in Color, Ringling Circus in Black and
White, Seasons, Gentlemen, l’amour, Up North, and
Along the Way.
text continued on page 52>>>
Busy Afternoon. ©Elizabeth Siegfried
Orchid Corsage. ©Elizabeth Siegfried
Consultation. ©Elizabeth Siegfried

Bathing Beauties. ©Elizabeth Siegfried
Rider. ©Elizabeth Siegfried

They show various images of my family and their friends, historical snippets of the Ringling Circus
winter home and behind-the-scenes performances including several in Rochester, the Ringling clowns
and animals, Sarasota beach activity, my ancestors’ refined social life in Rochester, their playful yet still
reserved life on Lake Ontario, and their athletic and often “mad-cap” lifestyle in the wilderness of Canada.
Balancing the vintage collections are three (and counting) contemporary collections: Off Season, The
Now, and Feline. These collections include selections from portfolios of my own contemporary fine art
images.
Since the beginning of my career, the central theme of my photographic work has brought together the
topics of family, the passage of time and generations and the cycles of life. I feel so lucky to have found
the trove of family films that has become inspiration for further photographic work and I experience this
current project, Cards Without Words, as a natural evolution of my creative path.
Star Wand. ©Elizabeth Siegfried
The Dive. ©Elizabeth Siegfried
The Butler. ©Elizabeth Siegfried
Woman Feeding Elephants. ©Elizabeth Siegfried
>>>text continued from page 50

IMAGE New Mexico 2015
The Results Are In!
It took quite an effort on the part of the judges of IMAGE Nexico 2015, but they perservered and
came up with 38 images that will grace the walls of Matrix Fine Art, July 1-30, with an Artist’s Opening
Reception scheduled for July 3, 2015.
Jurors: Tim Anderson, publisher, Red Dog News, Shadow & Light Magazine
Regina Held, Director, Matrix Fine Art Gallery & New Grounds Gallery
Ann Pallesen: Gallery Director of the Photographic Center NW
Prize placing will not be announced until the Artist’s Opening Reception.
IMAGE New Mexico 2015 Finalists: Donna Ahrend, Lance Bollinger, Steven Bundy, Mike Dooley, Robert
Fugate, Hal Gage, Luke Graham, Susan Graham-Brandt, Tyler Green, David Hanson, Kenneth Ingham,
Helen Johnson, Michael Keel, Marie Maher, Nathan McCreery, Carol Morgan-Eagle, Kim Reiten, Dan
Shaffer, Steven Bundy, Mike Smith, Kimber Wallwork-Heineman, Robert Esposito, Cliff Wood
Matrix Fine Art and Red Dog News would like to congratulate the winners, and we hope to see every one
of you at the opening! Below is a random selection of the images that will be in the exhibit.
The IMAGE New Mexico 2015 Gallery
Carol Morgan-Eagle
Carol Morgan-Eagle
Helen Johnson
Donna Ahrend
David Hanson

Helen Johnson
Marie Maher
Clifford Wood
Dan Shaffer
Donna Ahrend
Hal Gage
Kenneth Ingham
Lance Bollinger

Helen Johnson
Marie Maher
Nathan McCreery
Robert Fugate
Mike Dooley
Michael Keel
Kim Reiten
Lance Bollinger

Kim Reiten
Luke Graham
Marie Maher
Steven Bundy
Susan Graham-Brandt
Tyler Green
Kimber Wallwork-Heineman
Robert Esposito

Showcase Portfolio
©Karin Hillmer • www.karinhillmer.com • musiella@karinhillmer.com
When she leaned over the rose petals disappeared. ©Karin Hillmer

Nobody knew exactly when the masked ball had turned dangerous. ©Karin Hillmer
With a degree in Art History and formal training in drawing, painting and photography, I approach the
creation of a photograph from the perspective of both a painter and a photographer. A vague idea of the
image is formed in the mind first before it is further explored with pictorial elements to arrive at the final
outcome, the photo-montage.
The process of creation represents a journey, a journey both into the world and into my mind and soul.
The course of discovery can take me across countries, back to different stages in life and all the way back
into childhood. Symbols, which were created along the path of life, return in the form of objects, paper
fragments, colors or words to populate my images. Events that impressed or intrigued me are taken
up again and are explored in new ways. It may be that this kind of seeing, when looking through the
camera, revives those thoughts and feelings that came quite naturally to us when we were young. Then
the thing we were playing with was experienced truly as itself; it was fresh and new, seen for the very
first time. In those moments nothing matters but the creative journey itself.
With an idea in mind, my photographs and photographic fragments of objects are moved about in the
“digital darkroom.” They are juxtaposed with other visual elements to take on a new identity reflecting a
dream, a memory or a thought that is foremost on my mind. These conceptions evolve within a field of
polarities, a field of tension, where an active shape plays the same important role as the passive space
surrounding it. I explore opposite forces through reality and illusion, light and shade, pictorial depth and
flat surfaces, an inter-play of complementary colors, the painterly aspect versus photography. These
opposing forces dramatize the energy streaming forth from the image and it becomes a much deeper
experience.
The titles for my photographs are chosen to give another dimension to the overall artistic expression.
Often they provide a hint of the underlying “story” of the work of art. I invite you, the viewer, to engage
in a dialogue with my photographs, to explore this journey and to find your own personal experience
along the way.
Karin Hillmer

Sounds like the kind you always imagine but never see. ©Karin Hillmer

Not only Mary goes round and round again. ©Karin Hillmer

When she danced she became an Angel from Samothrace. ©Karin Hillmer

Oh, how slowly Lucassa sang the high note into the icy silence, 2003. ©Karin Hillmer

Where blue paint doesn’t paint—this time, 2004. ©Karin Hillmer
The Virtual You (in a we-world) a new series from Karin Hillmer
In this ongoing series of photographs a small piece of jewelry, a pendant in the
shape of a doll to be exact, becomes a surrogate for the human figure. The object
and its environment are staged in a really small world in my studio.
The images in this series reconcile fantasy, dreams, memory and experience in
a form of virtual reality where the distinctions between the real and the fantastic
are blurred. In my conceptualist practice, I weave my personal enigmatic imagery
and riddles into stories which also draw on contemporary culture, history and
circumstances.
Each image is an exploration of a theme, a juxtaposition of elements, visual,
emotional and imaginary. I conceive and create theatrical stage sets from a wide
range of materials and natural elements and I fashion the clothes for the doll
pendant. My creative process also comprises making many of the small objects
seen in my photographs. I am open to chance happenings, such as found objects
that yearn to be part of the story. When all the pieces are ready, I place the objects
into the sets in my studio and then I take one seamless photograph, with almost no
exceptions.
View more of this engaging new series at www.karilhillmer.com

Mindful Matters
We begin as children seeing the world as a mystery. The mind absorbs and reflects the experiences
of youth as a stainless mirror, and continually adds them to the knowledge bank of neurons. These
stored memories combine and create another world, the conceptual world, where ideas and unlikely
combinations of invisible elements stir constantly in the alembic of the mind. Somewhere along the
road to adulthood, the mind accepts this other conceptual world as the real one. It is the purpose of
Contemplation to return us to the world of the real, and the role of Contemplative Photography is to
express it. Contemplative Photography is where a calm and aware mind unites with the primary elements
of human vision. It is the clear visual expression of reality.
Contemplation is paying attention, right now, wherever you are. Contemplation notices things that
cannot be accessed by language. It allows us to be calm and aware of our events and surroundings.
Contemplation is neither frivolous nor spiritual. It is human. It is a skill. It is a choice. Thomas Merton
called it, “…the direct intuition of reality…a direct grasp of the unity of the visible and the invisible…a plain
fact, a pure experience, the very foundation of our being and thought.”
Contemplative Photography combines the practice of seeing with the age-old practice of mindfulness.
Rather than just seeing like we do most of the time, dualistically and conceptually bound, we see calmly
and are totally aware of what is in front of us in the moment. We see objects and relationships as
one with no preconceived conceptual baggage. Contemplative Photography proceeds from the correct
perception of reality to the clear expression of it. It is different from other types of photography in that
it demands nothing from us and nothing from the object. It is an expression of the pure visual nature
of reality as it unfolds in front of us in the moment. Learning Contemplative Photography requires that
we tear down the conceptual edifice that was unknowingly created from infancy by our culture and
reconstruct a new one: a mind that is calm and a vision that is aware.
For the last forty years I have studied visual perception and awareness. This study is an act of love and
obsession. It is also an active photographic practice, as many people have learned in my workshops
in Contemplative Photography. The visual perception work came first starting with the standard tools
of perceptual psychology such as monocular depth cues and Gestalt ideas that explain how the eye

and brain organize things. That exploration continues today with the latest research in the eye/brain
continuum and the NeoGestalt theories and practices that have arisen since the decline of Determinism
and Behaviorism. Perception has allowed me to understand the basic elements of human vision and ply
that knowledge into skills that people can learn to become better photographers. It goes far beyond the
arcane and rote practice of principles of composition because it is primary, yet it is only half the learning
one needs to see as a photographer. The other piece is awareness.
Awareness is the key to all art, and this includes photography. You may know how to paint skillfully and
mix paints in your sleep, handle Photoshop like a wizard, compose your images beautifully (or not),
or know all the latest techniques of alternative processes, but without awareness they are all barren
exercises in futility.
My study of awareness started with a single photograph in 1970 that broke through the “surface”
boundaries of reality. It was accomplished both with vision and
technique. The White Rock (right) was my first introduction to my own
authenticity to see beyond the boundaries of the real. It encompassed
both the awareness of what I was feeling and seeing about the rock
and the technical skills I had learned to develop the negative and print
accordingly to achieve the final photograph.
This episode was so intriguing to me that I searched further for more
information about what I experienced. I read scatterings from Carl
Jung and found that Minor White was essentially doing the same thing
as I was attempting. Although I didn’t get to study with Minor until a
year or so later, I still kept up my search, finding Thoreau and others
who helped me to see beyond the ordinary. Minor introduced me to
Zen in a casual way and this helped me to understand (as a conscious
fact) that photographs can be felt and intuited as well as seen, part of
the puzzle I’d been searching for.
In the spring of 1986 I was in the library of the college where I was teaching preparing some notes for
a lecture. It was late at night and I was the only one there except for
the librarian who was used to my nightly meanderings. At the other
end of the long table where I sat was a large tattered and well-worn
book. At last curiosity got the best of me and I went over and opened
it. The title, “The Tao of Painting,” was intriguing to me, as I had read
the ancient Tao Te Ching and understood that it was one of the sacred
texts of the great religions.
As I read the introduction and the first chapter a strange thing
happened: I started to exchange the word photography for painting.
Here, in my hands, was the story and technique of a group of people
who were trying to do the same thing I was struggling with – 2000
years ago – with a stick of black ink, water, a brush, and some paper.
But it wasn’t so much the technique that seemed similar, as the simple
tools used to produce black-and-white images of the landscape and the
inspiration these painters received from the Tao. It was the paradigm
shift I needed to accomplish the synthesis of surface visual perception
and a deeper expression of the mysteries of nature accessed through
awareness.
In the twenty odd years since then my vision and awareness have
changed greatly about the nature of the world, the things in it, and
the relationships among them. I have amassed a large library of
over 300 books on Chinese painting, Eastern art, and religion. I have
brought the structure and being of the ancient Chinese painters to life
text cont’d. on page 71...
Black & White XVI. ©George DeWolfe

Black & White XVIII. ©George DeWolfe
in modern digital photography and inkjet printing. The story of that structure and practice is now being
taught in my workshop called Contemplative Photography.
The ancient Chinese painters created an art that has lasted over two millennia. It possesses amazing
resilience to overcome the arbitrary movements with which Western art, including photography, is
continually plagued. It represents and unifies the human spirit, nature, and the universe and was created
with awareness, reflection, and silence. It is as true a form of expression as exists in the world, a canvas
where art and spirit collide and become one.
The synthesis of awareness and vision brought about by studying the structures of both Eastern and
Western painting and photography, a grounding in the basic principles of human vision, and learning the
skills of awareness are the cornerstones of the practice.
text cont’d. from page 68...
©George DeWolfe • www.georgedewolfe.com • georgedewolfe@roadrunner.com
Black & White XXIV. ©George DeWolfe

Note: In this section we will be featuring photographers who spend a good deal of time on the road, from
workshop leaders to National Geographic photographers to photojournalists to travel photographers.
If you are a professional photographer who spends a lot of time “on the road,” and if you have some
valuable tips, I want to hear from you.

Editor’s Choice Portfolio
My series of images, “Pinhole Travels,” was made over a 10-year period of time. Pinhole photography
is an archaic process. The exposures are extremely slow, ranging from a few seconds to 20 minutes,
depending on the light. I used a commercial 4x5 camera with a tiny aperture drilled into a piece of brass.
Because this camera that has no real “lens,” the images have a less refined quality—more reminiscent of
the imperfect lenses of the early days of photography. The depth-of-field is deep, due to the tiny size of
the aperture and the images take on a sort of glow in certain kinds of light.
Why pinhole? Because I have traveled and made a lot of images with traditional cameras, both film and
digital, often for Getty Images, I felt I wanted to look at the world in a fresh way. The process of making
a pinhole image is slow and deliberate, a sort of inward journey.
The exposure process is an inexact science, often measured in seconds to minutes. I used Polaroid Type
55 film, which produced a black-and-white negative so I could assess the exposure immediately. If the
image needed more time, I would double the exposure. That meant that if an exposure took five minutes,
the next one would be 10. Or 20. And if the light was fading, it could be longer.
I carried bottles of water and plastic Zip-Loc bags, into which I would insert each negative in a cushion
of water. When I felt certain I had what I wanted, I returned to the hotel like a bag lady, saddled with
cameras (pinhole and others), tripod and bags of negatives, sloshing as I walked. I processed the
negatives in sodium sulfite, washed them in a bucket designed for washing negatives, and hung them
to dry on a travel clothesline. I spent many long nights on my knees at the side of a foreign bathtub
carefully tending to my day’s work.
Making the pinhole photographs is a Zen-like meditation. What I loved most was the silence. I would time
the exposures on my wristwatch, taking in the noises, the light, the sense of place. Sometimes I felt as if
I could hear voices or music emanating from old buildings. On very windy days, the negatives got bits of
dust and debris embedded in the emulsion when I opened the Polaroid, another part of the charm. People
walking through the image would disappear in the long exposures, so even if had been surrounded by
people, such as in the Luxembourg Gardens, the images have a haunting emptiness, as if no one is there.
©Rosanne Olson • www.rosanneolson.com • rosanne@rosanneolson.com

I photographed in the U.S., Mexico, England, France, Japan and China. After China, Polaroid announced
that it was discontinuing the film so I decided that I had finished my journey with “Pinhole Travels.” It
was time to move on to another project, which was a book about women and body image. The pinhole
images have been exhibited in various galleries in Seattle, Houston and New York City.
Pinhole Stories: Great Wall, China
We were about three hours outside of Beijing: two friends who live in the city, my husband and me. It
was hot and humid as we began our hike through farmland and forest to find the Great Wall (below),
which I could see in the distance, sharp as a razor against the sky. Packed in my backpack were my
4x5 pinhole camera, tripod, Polaroid film, bottles of water and baggies for transporting the film back to
Beijing, in addition to my regular cameras.
A village woman had offered us her
son as a guide and porter to help
carry my 35-lb pack, but our friends
declined the offer. They had been to
the Wall before, they said, maybe not
exactly there, but close.
An hour-and-a-half later, after trudging
up a steep forest trail with no Great
Wall in sight, we realized we were
lost. Panting and dripping from the
climb, our friend John hiked back
to the village to locate the guide he
had initially declined, but he was not
around. We had missed our chance.
On the way back to find us he met
a woman picking mushrooms who
agreed to guide us for four times the
original guide’s price. Together we
all hiked back up the incline, where
we had already been, and down the other side, then up again. We had been on the right track in the
first place, just not far enough. And suddenly we were there, surrounded by centuries of history, the
unreconstructed Great Wall that snaked off into the distance as far as we could see.
Except for the breeze there was no movement nor were there any other people. As I wandered around
looking for what I wanted to photograph, I imagined the incredible toil of the thousands of men and
women who gave their lives carrying stacks of heavy bricks, year after year, mile upon mile to build
the wall. I made my photographs, immersed in a new understanding of the incredible feats humans
undertake in the name of war and peace.
Pinhole Stories: Abbaye du Thoronet, France
One summer day on a trip to Provénce, I drove with my husband to the famous Abbaye du Thoronet
(next page), a former 12th century Cistercian monastery that is now a museum open to the public,
complete with a gift shop and guides.
I didn’t know whom to ask about photography so I just went in with my tripod, set it up in the hallway
with a view of the arches where the monks used to walk in prayer, and proceeded to take photographs. It
is likely that the camera just looked like a funny box on a tripod. No one bothered to ask me to stop.
The hallway was dark, with its cobbled stones and beautiful arches. With the long exposures, the light
filled the room as if lit by the moon. There were many people milling about that day, but with the
10-minute exposures, they disappeared and all that was left was a sort of spiritual emptiness of the
space.

Tips & Techniques
Fine Art Photography Hanging/Display Techniques
Andrew Darlow
An Effective Fine Art Photography Hanging/Display Technique (Part II)
In my last article in the March/April issue of Shadow and Light, I covered three different tips and
techniques for displaying artwork. In this article, I will share a simple but useful product that has made
my life much easier. It can also save time and allow you to offer different hanging options for your
clients.
The product I’m speaking about is actually a system, and it is comprised of Surflon Nylon Coated
Stainless Steel Crimping Wire, Crimping Sleeves and a Crimping Tool. I use these products for two
primary purposes:
1. As a standard picture frame wire. I really dislike traditional picture framing wire. I find it difficult to
use, and I sometimes poke myself with the sharp ends when twisting and turning traditional picture
frame wire (and I know I’m not the only one!). The three products that make up the Surflon system
allow me to quickly create a strong, simple way to support a photograph or other artwork.
2. In conjunction with a “French Cleat.” There is a popular art hanging option called the “French Cleat,”
that is useful because it is very stable and avoids the typical slight rotation of artwork over time. It may
not be clear at first, but the top of the cleat that is attached to the artwork can also be used to hold
a picture framing wire. To make it
work, attach a few screw eyes to
the top of the french cleat (pre-drill
the holes if necessary), then attach
the wire to the two screw eyes (see
photo).
This image (left) shows the Surflon
system in use with a french cleat.
(1) The Surflon Nylon Coated Wire.
(2) A Crimping Sleeve, and (3) The
Crimping Tool. There are multiple
spaces on the head of the crimping
tool that can be used depending on
the size of the wire and crimping
sleeve you are using. I drew two
lines with a grease pencil (circled in
white) at the specific location on the
head of the crimping tool where the
crimp should take place. This makes
it much easier to find the proper
location to crimp the wire. The
crimping tool can also be used to cut
Surflon wire.
Here’s a quick tip regarding which Surflon size wire and crimping sleeves to consider. I recommend
using a Surflon wire size that offers about 3 times the break strength compared with the expected
weight of your artwork. For example, if you plan to hang something that’s 10 pounds, you might choose
Surflon Size 2, which has a 30-pound break strength. Or, you can err on the safe side so that you
don’t have to stock multiple products and purchase Surflon size 4 to 7 wire and crimping sleeves (60-
115 pound break strength). Just note that the bronze color Surflon wire has a lower break strength
compared with the silver options, even though the size is the same.
All images ©Andrew Darlow • www.imagingbuffet.com • AD@andrewdarlow.com

Shadow and Light Photog. Mag. 2015

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