ABOUT THE ARTIST
Thank you for viewing my work. I have considered myself an artist/photographer for forty years and counting. Most of those years were spent in the commercial photo industry, beginning in “Media Production Services” doing video training and company portraits. From there, I managed a pre-press studio and production lab for several years. For twenty-plus years I worked in the fields of high-end film assembly, drum scanning, and photo retouching. For the following ten years (before retiring in 2018) I worked as a janitor.
Go figure . . .
Well, perhaps I should explain . . .
Photography has been an intrinsic and driving force for much of my life - together with family, friendships, and faith of various sorts. As those driving forces propelled me as a young adult, where to go - photographically speaking - became the key question, the missing link. The functions of fate and fiscal frugality would handle the how; but that primal urge for a quest, a worthwhile vision, that would require a journey. Should it be a conventional route, or follow a more circuitous path? Should the view along the way be an outward one, or a more inward gaze? Perhaps both? The journey would at times seem long and tedious, but more often it would feel far too short. I would encounter unexpected detours, grand and inspiring vistas, and many too-fleeting or simply remarkable sights. It included daily discoveries of the world around and within me. The original path I was on became wider and more winding. That initial venture became a true adventure.
Looking back, it’s been an enjoyable journey. I've been able to stop and focus my attention, at will, on what was around me. Selecting small kernels, inklings, and newly sprouted ideas from the places I've been. I was able to grow and mature those ideas into various bodies of work, or perhaps discard them in very short order. Keeping to a basic vision while being open to change. Trying not to be too elaborate or too forced. Looking to see, and to see what I was looking at. This journey around a relatively small radius, these inklings of ideas, this adventure that I'm on continues to grow a little each day. Perhaps one day it will intersect with a broader, more universal road. A causeway of sorts, leading to that place where artists roam free and contented, swinging between branches and bounding over walls. It's a place I still believe in, and where those original drives and primitive forces may yet have the power to take me. If I never arrive I'll most likely survive, happy just to hang here with my family and friends. Perhaps sharing a portion or two of this, my "photographer stew". Made fresh with a few things I've brought, and those kernels and sprouts that are all about us.
Along the journey I’ve learned numerous skills and techniques. Many are now obsolete. Others have grown beyond my grasp, reaching increasingly impressive heights. I’ve seen the industry and craft, the trends and styles, spiral around me and build upon the past. It has reinvigorated the language of visual communication, and displayed the world in evermore interesting and creative ways. These changes have drawn in and upon the young, and that youthful spirit we share, while utilizing new and incredible technologies to express the same age-old desires, relationships, worries and goals we all have. I’ve found vast worlds filled with new enthusiasts where once just a few had resided. For me it’s been a good journey. It still is. I try to learn every day. I've been able take part in and share the pleasures of family and friends. I’ve enjoyed both peaceful and interesting times, while creating many images, all of which I love. I continue to create images even as I find more, long forgotten ones in my archives. Perhaps a few of these, my friends, will yet reach a wider audience. And like children there comes a time for them to speak for themselves. Now is a good time. Thank you again for your time and attention. Best wishes. - Bill Krumholz
